


And They Were Housemates

by DxityDoo



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Has ADHD, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Aged-Up Characters, Angst, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Identity Reveal, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Mostly Canon Compliant, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Plagg Cares, Sort Of, University, but he just does, its never really mentioned??, okay its somewhat mentioned, roommate au, thats later on tho, these children are oblivious, these tags are all over the place im sorry, they hate each other as superheroes, they’re like 18?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-01-04 17:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21201758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DxityDoo/pseuds/DxityDoo
Summary: He was turned away from her. Looking back on it, maybe that was why she didn’t recognise him at first. But then he turned to look at her and her mind went blank.Adrien.Oh my god_________________Marinette was excited to start the next chapter of her life. Making it into her first choice university had been her dream for years and now it was finally here and it was going to be perfect.It was just her luck she would be housemates with Adrien Agreste of all people.Now she had to navigate university life while living with her crush as well as trying to keep the trouble-making Chat Noir from getting in her way.It was going to be one hell of a year.





	1. Chapter 1

The door in front of her read 311. 

Marinette checked the number on the paper in her hand again. This was it. 

She was pretty sure she hadn’t been given a key—of course, it was possible she’d lost it—so she could only hope that meant the door was unlocked. She tried the handle. The door swung open with ease. She stepped over the threshold into what would be her home for the next four years.

“Hello? Anyone here?” She called. No response. She must be the first one here. She snorted. That made a change. 

She placed her bag down by her feet—even with super strength, it was heavy. She hadn’t been entirely sure what she needed to bring so she’d maybe brought… everything. Or as much as she could fit into one bag anyway. Which was a lot. It was a big bag.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she allowed herself a moment to survey her surroundings. 

She was standing in a short corridor. On the left, were a set of stairs that, she remembered from her visit on the open day, lead to four other bedrooms and a bathroom. At the end of the corridor, she could see the kitchen, a plain wooden door, painted in a neat white. The glass was frosted. On either side were the last two bedrooms and the second bathroom. 

If she was here first, did that mean she got to choose her bedroom? She checked the letter again. It didn’t say a room number. Guess she did.

Which room should she choose? Ideally, she didn’t want to have a room that could have a lot of eyewitnesses should she need to suit up so that left the bottom floor, even though the height of the top floor would’ve been beneficial. 

“Tikki?” Marinette asked, opening the clasp on her purse. “Which room should I choose?” Tikki poked her head out of the purse.

“Can we have a look at them?” 

“Yeah, of course.” Marinette started towards the nearest room, the one on the right. It was a pretty standard set up: a single bed stood, flush to the wall along one side, underneath a decent-sized window. A bedside table sat at the head of the bed with a single shelf nestled in the corner. At the other end of the room was a tall wardrobe and drawer set. The desk opposite the bed was painted a pure white and had a plain but comfortable-looking black chair pushed underneath it.

“This one is nice,” Tikki said, “the window would get light for the majority of the day.”

“Yeah but it opens onto the car park. I’d have to be careful about being spotted as Ladybug.”

Tikki thought for a moment. “What’s the other one like?” Marinette left the room, pulling the door gently closed behind her. The second room was much the same as the first but the window faced the small courtyard instead of the open car park. 

Once Marinette stepped into the room, Tikki flew out of her bag and whizzed around the room. 

“I like this, Marinette,” she said, coming to a stop on the bed. Marinette laughed.

“I guess this is it then.” She sat down next to Tikki on the bed and let her eyes wander the room. 

She didn’t have any lessons today and the university had said the students could get there whenever they were able but she’d wanted to be early—well, early-ish; she didn’t think midday really counted as ‘early’ anymore—so she had time to settle in. 

“Okay,” she said, getting to her feet, “I’m going to grab my bag. You can stay here if you’d like.” Tikki nodded.

Her bag was right where she’d left it and she collected it quickly, turning and lugging it back to her room. Beside her, the door jiggled in its frame. She jumped, instinctively dropping into a defensive position.

A knock sounded. Marinette held her breath.

“Hello? Is anyone there? I don’t have a key and… I think the door is locked?” She let out a sigh of relief, allowing herself to relax again. It was just one of her new housemates. Excitement flooded through her: it was one of her new housemates!

She put her bag back down and straightened her dress, preparing a welcome for what would hopefully be a new friend. She opened the door.

The guy was tall—taller than her, though that wasn’t that difficult really—with neatly-styled blonde hair. He was turned away from her. Looking back on it, maybe that was why she didn’t recognise him at first. But then he turned to look at her and her mind went blank.

Adrien.

Oh my god.

Her greeting died on her lips. She could only stare. Seriously? What were the chances that she’d be living in the same house as her long-time crush?

“Marinette?” Evidentially, he had recognised her too. Oh Lord, what was her luck?

“Oh… hey, A-Adrien,” she cringed internally. God, she was not subtle. “How goes it?” How goes it? Who even says that!

Adrien didn’t seem to notice her awkwardness. “Pretty good.” There was a beat of silence in which Marinette wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. “So you got in too?”

“Uh, yeah. I did. This is my house, actually.” Adrien looked surprised at that. “I- I mean, it’s not  _ just _ my house, obviously. There’s others. I haven’t met them yet though so I can’t tell you anything.” She let out an uncomfortable laugh, turning her eyes to the ground. If she was wearing the Ladybug suit right now, she was sure she would be the same colour.

“I’m glad I have someone I know,” Adrien said. Marinette glanced back up at him. He was… smiling. At her? She felt herself smile back.

“Me too.”

There was another short silence.

“Can I come in?” Adrien finally asked. Oh god. She’d been having an entire conversation with him on the doorstep! 

“Oh! Yes! I’m sorry, I-” Marinette hastily opened the door further, allowing Adrien access. She stepped to the side. Straight into her bag. She tripped, lost her balance and fell to the ground with a loud BANG. Why was she such a mess?

She made no move to get up, resigning herself to her new home on the floor. She heard laughter—great, Adrien was laughing at her—and then a pale hand offered itself to her. Gratefully, she took it and pulled herself to her feet.

“Are you okay?” Adrien asked. He seemed genuinely concerned; Marinette was touched. She could only nod. He glanced around the narrow corridor, taking it in as she had earlier that day. “Have you chosen a room already?”

“Yeah, that one over there,” she said, pointing towards her half-open door. She couldn’t see Tikki. Seems she had been smart enough to hide. 

“Ah so that was your plan: get here early and choose the best room?” He laughed.

“W-well, I wouldn’t say midday is  _ early _ as such. But yeah, it’s an added bonus definitely.” Adrien nodded wisely. He said nothing and she felt the need to continue, “Near the kitchen so I’m ready for midnight snacking.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Marinette felt herself going red again. Adrien complimented her! “So we choose our own rooms?”

“I think so? I wasn’t assigned a room so I just took over that one,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder at her room. Adrien looked deep in thought for a moment. She watched as his eyes flitted across the corridor, scanning up and down the stairs.

“I’m gonna take a look around,” he said eventually. “Let you get settled in.” He nodded towards her bag which, she realised, was still on the floor where it had fallen when she tripped.

“Yeah. I should probably unpack,” she grabbed hold of the suitcase and heaved it to a standing position. “Tell me when you find a room?” 

“Okay, sure.” Marinette wanted to smack herself—tell me when you find a room? That was weird, right? Oh god he’s gonna think she’s weird! “I’m going this way.” Adrien said, looking up the stairs.

“Oh, sorry,” she pulled her bag out the way of the stairs. “I’m this way so…” He already knew that! “See you.” She finished lamely. She set off towards her room before she could say anything else stupid.

She closed her door slightly harsher than she meant to and winced in sympathy for the poor door.

“Tikki?” She said quietly. Tikki came out of the wardrobe. Marinette felt herself relax at the sight of her—Tikki never failed to make her feel better. “I think I have a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I’ve done that thing where I decide to write a multi-chaptered fic because that’s definitely not gonna go badly.
> 
> I have it all roughly planned out so I know what’s going to happen.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that evening, Marinette was sat at her desk, her laptop open in front of her. She was waiting for the webpage to load. It had already been loading for five minutes! 

She didn’t have the WiFi yet so she’d been using her phone as a hotspot and it was working but it was a very slow process. All she wanted to do was check the Ladyblog and see how Alya was faring now that Ladybug was decidedly not based out of the Dupain-Cheng bakery anymore. Not that Alya had ever known that, of course. 

A gentle rapping on her door pulled her away from her staring match with her laptop. 

“Come in,” she said, swinging on her chair. The door opened slowly. A blonde head popped round the door. 

It was Adrien. 

Marinette suddenly lost her balance and went flying. She hit the ground  _ hard.  _ Groaning in pain, she shoved the chair off her legs. A pale hand offered itself to her. Huh, this seemed familiar. 

Gratefully, she accepted it and pulled herself to her feet, face burning. 

“Are you okay?” Adrien asked, his voice soft and concerned. Marinette looked up. He was studying her for any sign of pain. Dazed, she nodded. ”That’s good.” Adrien took a step back. Marinette fought the urge to step closer to him again. 

“S- so, what brings you here?” She asked. “N- not that I don’t want you here! It’s not that at all! It’s just you don’t usually come round. Or at all. Given it’s the first day of the year.” Someone strike her dead. Please. It would be less painful. 

“Oh, yeah. I came to say hi, given we’re gonna be floor buddies this year.” He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand nervously. Adorable. 

“Floor buddies?” 

“Yeah. My room is that one over there,” he cocked his head to the right, gesturing towards the only other room on this floor. Oh God. Not only was she sharing a flat with the boy she’d had a crush on for literal  _ years,  _ but, as her luck would have it, he’d also chosen the only room that would mean she had no chance of not bumping into him at least once a day? If there was some higher-power, he was a sadist. 

“O-oh that’s cool.” Mentally, she cursed herself. She really needed to get a grip on herself. She took a short breath before speaking again, “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather share a floor with.” Abort! Abort! Too far! 

“Thank you?” He said, voice lilting at the end in uncertainty. He was rubbing the back of his neck again. So cute! And was she imagining the faint pink hue to his cheeks? They stood in silence for a moment before Adrien spoke again. “Well, I’ll leave you to your… Ladyblog?” Marinette gasped, head snapping around. 

The logo of the Ladyblog stood out against the screen, the pink background casting a warm light against her desk. It had finally loaded! 

“I’ll see you around,” Adrien said and he stepped out of her room. Marinette turned around too late. He was gone and she was left alone again. 

Probably for the best. She’d already managed to embarrass herself several times in the last few minutes. This way she could get on with what she had been trying to do for the last ten minutes. Finally. 

Marinette spun back to her laptop, immediately going to the Current News tab and scrolling through the posts. 

*** 

The next day was Marinette’s first lecture and she was determined to not be late. 

She woke up bright and early. Lazily, she stretched, one hand reaching to turn off her alarm. She swatted at it blindly until her fingers found the snooze button and the beeping cut off. 

Glorious silence stretched around her. She felt herself relaxing into it. 

Nope. In her last school, she made a reputation for herself as the late one. This year would be different. This year, she was at her first-choice university who’d accepted her unconditionally after seeing her portfolio; she wouldn’t take that honour lightly. She would prove that she was worthy of it and the first step was not being late. 

Marinette rolled over, dangling her legs over the edge and pushing herself onto her feet. She had picked out her outfit last night so she wouldn’t waste unnecessary time obsessing over it this morning so now she grabbed the clothes off her desk chair. She changed quickly, tugging her jumper over her light pink shirt. She’d chosen her favourite ensemble today: it was stylish but comfortable and, more to the point, she felt good in it. It helped to calm her nerves somewhat. 

She slung her purse over her shoulder, pausing for a moment to let Tikki fly into it then ventured out into the hallway. 

The house was quiet as Marinette shut her door behind her with a click. Everyone else must still be sleeping. She tip-toed to the kitchen. 

“I never met anyone else last night. I wonder what subjects they do?” Marinette said to Tikki as the kwami flew by her side. 

“When you get back you should go around and say hi!” 

Marinette nodded, “Maybe I could pick up some cookies on my way back,” she mused. 

There were lights on in the kitchen when Marinette approached it. She hadn’t been expecting anyone else to be awake so early. It was—she checked her watch—7:30 in the morning. Maybe she had an early-lecture buddy. 

“Ooh! That would be nice. Everyone likes cookies!” Tikki was saying. She clearly hadn’t noticed the signs of life. Marinette put a finger to her lips, shushing her. Luckily, Tikki took the hint. She stopped talking and flew down to hover by Marinette’s bag. 

There were voices—plural, she was sure of it—coming from the kitchen but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Maybe she had multiple early-lecture buddies 

Deciding loitering any longer would look weird, she pushed the kitchen door open. Tikki flew into the purse at her waist. The voices cut out immediately. As she rounded the door, she plastered a smile on her face, preparing a friendly greeting. 

Adrien sat alone at the table. Her mind shut down. What were the chances she’d be not only housemates, not only floor buddies, but also early-lecture buddies with  _ Adrien freaking Agreste?  _

“A-Adrien,” she stammered. “Guess we’re early-lecture buddies too.” She giggled—oh God, she  _ giggled.  _ Adrien didn’t seem to notice her less than perfect conversation skills, thank the Lord. 

“Yeah,” he said, smiling that perfect smile of his. “What are the chances?” She could only smile back. “You’re doing fashion, right?” 

“Uh, yeah,” she nodded, maybe slightly too enthusiastically. This was a topic she could talk about. “This was my first-choice actually. I looked at the dedicated fashion schools but they were so far away and… I, uh, didn’t want to be so far from home?” She hadn’t meant that last bit to come out as a question. Truthfully, she had loved the fashion schools but her part-time gig as a superhero meant she had to be nearby in case another akuma appeared. 

Besides, she had loved this university when she’d looked around and it was only an hour’s drive away from central Paris—or a ten minute swing, if she was pushing it—and the fashion course was one of the best she had seen at a non-specialist school. 

“So, what are you doing?” She asked. 

“Physics, actually,” he said. She must have looked surprised at that because he continued, “it was my favourite subject at school. My dad wanted me to continue modelling but I managed to convince him to let me go to uni, as long as it wasn’t too far. So here I am.” He shrugged. 

Marinette couldn’t recall Adrien ever mentioning physics as his favourite subject and she’d known everything about him at one point. She opened her mouth, about to ask him what he liked most about it when a shrill beeping pierced the air. Adrien grimaced. He grabbed his phone and tapped the screen. The beeping stopped. 

“Sorry, that’s my cue to leave,” he said, getting to his feet. He grabbed his bag from under the table. “I’ll see you later?” 

“Yeah, sure,” she said quickly, waving at his retreating form. She sunk down into his vacated seat, dreamily watching the door long after he’d left. He’d come back through the door and declare his undying love for her and they’d get married and have two children and a hamster and- 

“-rinette! Marinette!” Tikki’s voice cut through her thoughts. 

“H-what?” 

“You need to go! You’re going to be late!” That didn’t sound right. She’d woken up extra early for her lecture. She checked her watch. 8:45, it read. She checked it again. It didn’t change. Huh. That was weird. She could’ve sworn it had been half seven not five minutes ago. 

“Marinette!” 

“Yes, Tikki?” Then it clicked in her mind. “Shit!” Her lecture was at 9:00 on the other side of the campus. It was a twenty minute walk.  _ Double shit _ . 

She tore through the kitchen, grabbing a banana and a nutrigrain bar that she could eat during the lecture and shoved them in her bag. She dashed out of the house—probably looking like a mad-woman—barely remembering to close the door behind her. 

She made it to her lecture just as the clock ticked 9:00. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm just going to upload these as they're finished. So there might be a bigger gap between some and others may be uploaded in the same day.
> 
> Chapter 3 is finished. I'm just waiting for it to be beta'd (a thousand thanks to my friend (no ao3 account I'm afraid but you know who you are) for that!) so that should be up by the end of the week.
> 
> I hope you're enjoying it so far. Bit more of a chill one this time but tbh I'm having way too much fun writing Marinette being a mess around Adrien (mostly because I was kinda the same once upon a time). 
> 
> Anyways, til next time!


	3. Chapter 3

After the less than successful start to the morning, Marinette had decided that was enough excitement for one day. She trudged back to what she now called home, briefly stopping at the local co-op to buy a box of cookies to share around. 

Despite only just making it into her lecture in the nick of time, the rest of the two hours had gone smoothly. Her pitiful breakfast of whatever was to hand when she’d run out had laid forgotten in her bag while she frantically tried to get down everything the lecturer said. She’d managed it—barely—but now her wrist throbbed and she could think of nothing better than cookies and a hot mug of camomile tea. 

But, of course, she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Life could never be so easy. 

Her first clue was the large crowd of people suddenly swarming towards her. She ducked back into the co-op to avoid it, flashing the employee eyeing her suspiciously a dazzling smile. What was going on? 

She peered through the hazy glass doors, trying to make out the source of the commotion. It was no use. She couldn’t see anything. Between the crowd and the steamed-up glass, there was no chance she was going to be able to work out what was happening. 

Marinette ventured outside again, pressing herself against the wall of the co-op and following it around to the side where she was protected from the crowd once again. From here, she had a much better viewpoint. The crowd was dying down now and she could start to see... something. What _ was _that? It looked like... 

A circular saw blade embedded itself in the wall beside her. Marinette jumped, falling to the ground and scrambling away. She tucked herself into a corner, shadowed by trees. She watched in amazement as the saw blade melted away into purple smoke. 

“That looks an awful lot like an akuma, doesn’t it?” Marinette murmured, more to herself than anyone else. “And on my second day?” She scoffed. For a superhero whose power was literally good fortune, she sure had some rotten luck. “Tikki, spots on!” 

She felt the transformation wash over her. As Ladybug, she leapt up, landing on top of the co-op she’d been hiding behind. Yup, it was definitely an akuma, alright. 

The akuma—a woman—was dressed from head to toe in what looked like zips? Her dress was made entirely out of a striped black and red material which, as she grew closer, Ladybug realised were meant to mimic circular saw holsters. A metal hummingbird hung on a chain around her neck. She hefted two large sawblades but a third flashed past, embedding itself in anything that got in its path which, luckily, was only buildings for the moment. Ladybug didn’t want to wait for that moment to run out. 

She needed to stop this villain before someone got hurt. But she hesitated. If she got too close, the akuma would have a clear shot on her and she’d end up putting herself in harm’s way before she could even get close to the woman. 

“My, don’t you look _ radian _ t tonight, Miss?” a silky smooth voice said from Ladybug’s right. She barely stifled a groan. What was _ he _ doing here? “Truly some _ cutting-edge _ tools you have there.” She could hear the smugness in his tone from here. Did he not understand how serious this situation was? People could be hurt if this akuma was allowed to run around for too much longer. “Okay, serious talk: put the blades down and we won’t have a problem.” 

Ladybug rolled her eyes. Really? His plan was to drop in, crack a few puns and then ask the raging akuma _ nicely _ to put the very sharp, pointy weapons down? He was ridiculous. 

As expected, the akuma burst out laughing. 

“You want me to put the saws down?” she asked, a dangerous edge to her voice. Ladybug realised what she was going to do a few seconds before Chat Noir did. Chat Noir dropped into a fighting stance as the villain flung a blade towards him, its deadly-sharp edge glinting evilly as it spun. 

“Chat!” Ladybug cried. Her voice drew his attention... and the akuma’s, which was both a blessing and a curse. 

“A ladybug too! It must be my lucky day!” the villain cackled, flinging another sawblade, this time at Ladybug. Ladybug leapt backwards, the blade embedding itself where she was just standing. She ran towards the edge of the roof, jumping across to where Chat Noir was. 

He was leaning on his stick, watching the whole thing with a stupid grin on his face like it was nothing more than a street show, but he straightened abruptly when he saw her approaching. 

“What on _ earth _, do you think you’re doing?” Ladybug yelled as she drew near. “How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t. Antagonise. The. Villain.” she said, punctuating each word with a jab to his chest. He winced, rubbing the spot. 

“Hey, at least I _ saw _ the blade coming. Better than you. You gave your position away and almost became mincemeat yourself!” He retorted. 

“Another pun? Seriously? That’s what got us into this mess!” God, she really did not like Chat Noir. “What are you even doing here?” 

“As much as I’d like to continue this conversation, M’Lady, I think someone else is vying for my attention,” he said, smirking at something behind Ladybug. She seethed. 

“Don’t call me that,” she snarled, spinning on her heel to face the akuma, yo-yo at the ready. The woman had managed to scale the wall of the building and was thundering across the roof towards them, her gaze determined. 

Ladybug felt Chat tense beside her, preparing to jump. She fought the urge to roll her eyes again; he was so reckless. He was going to get himself seriously injured one of these days. 

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” the akuma said. “Come to Saw-Slinger like the good little cat you are.” Chat bristled at the nickname. Ladybug barely smothered a grin at his reaction. Oh, you _ bet _ she’s gonna use that one later. 

Saw-Slinger threw two of her saws towards them, holding the third protectively. Ladybug leapt over the blade as it came close to her, formulating a plan in her head. She glanced around, spotting an alcove they could duck into for a second. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed Chat for this one. 

She grabbed Chat’s cuff and pulled him towards the overhang she’d seen. 

“H-hey!” he protested loudly, but let himself be dragged nonetheless. Perhaps he’d realised fighting her while the other woman had razor-sharp saws was not such a good idea. 

“I have a plan,” she said. He quieted down immediately, instantly attentive. Wow, wish she’d known those magic words before. “She only has three saws. Once all three are gone, she’s defenceless. That’s our chance.” Chat nodded. 

“Okay. And?” he asked. “What do you need me to do?” 

“I need you,” she said, jabbing him again, “to distract her. Get her to throw all three saws, I don’t care how you do it. I’ll sneak up from behind and grab her necklace—that must be where the akuma is—then I’ll need you to Cataclysm it. Got it?” He nodded once. “Okay, go.” 

Chat Noir ran out from the alcove, taunting Saw-Slinger as he ran. 

“Hey, Saw-Hefter, was it? I heard you were looking for me?” Ladybug watched as he zig-zagged across the roof, teasing her, trying to goad her into throwing her saws. He was leading her away from where Ladybug still hid. For once, his skill in being irritation incarnate was just what she needed. 

She watched as Saw-Slinger grew more and more agitated, her fist clenched tighter and tighter around one of her saws. 

But she still wasn’t throwing it. _ Why wasn’t she throwing it? _

They needed a little bit of luck right now. 

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug cried, throwing her yo-yo up in the air. She caught a... mirror? A massive circular one. What did she do with this? 

“I _ saw _ what you did with your hair today. I must admit, not my taste but somehow you pull off Birds Nest. Not many can.” Saw-Slinger audibly growled at the mention of her hair. Of course. 

Ladybug waved at Chat, trying to catch his attention without alerting Saw-Slinger. Luckily the akuma’s focus was on Chat alone. Ladybug rolled the mirror towards him. He stopped it with his foot and flipped it up into his hands. 

“What’s this, I wonder? A mirror! My, how dashingly handsome I look!” he turned his gaze on Saw-Slinger. “Want a peek?” And he turned the mirror on her. The effect was instant: Saw-Slinger snarled, sending two of her saws flying towards him. He dodged both as casually as if it were a game. To him, maybe it was. 

Now was as good of a chance as any. Ladybug crept out from her hidey hole and circled around Saw-Slinger, staying out of her vision. 

“Now, that’s no way for a lady to act! It's just a harmless mirror, wouldn’t you like a little looksie? I won’t judge!” With a scream, Saw-Slinger let the last saw fly through the air. Now! Ladybug leapt on her, wrapping her arms around Saw-Slinger's throat, trying to get a hold on the necklace as the akuma thrashed. 

“You’re no fun, Saw-Caster! It’s really quite a lovely mirror,” He was still going and Saw-Slinger was getting more and more aggressive. He really didn’t know when to stop did he? 

Saw-Slinger stuck her arm out, probably calling her saws back. Ladybug really didn’t want to stick around for that. 

“We could admire ourselves together! We could make a club out of it; I know some people who’d probably quite li- hey!” The saw had passed by barely a whiskers-length away from Chat Noir’s arm. He dropped the mirror. 

Ladybug watched it slice through the air towards her. She wrapped her fingers around the necklace, finally getting a good enough hold on it. She flung herself forwards, tucking into a forward roll as she hit the ground. 

“Chat!” she yelled, chucking the necklace towards him. 

“Cataclysm!” he cried. 

“No!” Saw-Slinger screeched. A saw came whizzing through the air, barely missing Ladybug. She felt a sharp pain flare through her cheek as a few strands of her hair drifted to the ground. 

It was like the world was moving in slow motion. The blade whirled towards Chat. It was too fast. He was too slow. The necklace was still in the air and Chat had reached out to grab it and the blade was _ right there. _And then he had it in his hand and he had dropped to the ground and the saw had impaled itself in the wall next to him. The necklace crumbled to dust in his hand. 

Ladybug got to her feet, spinning her yo-yo and catching the akuma deftly. 

“Bye bye, little butterfly,” she said as it flew away. She grabbed the mirror from where Chat had dropped it and threw it up in the air with a cry of “Miraculous Ladybug!” 

"Where am I? What happened?” came a voice from behind her. Ladybug ignored it for a moment, watching Chat. He sat up, looking around. He still held the necklace in his hand. He got to his feet and walked over. He seemed to be walking fine. 

Unable to see anything wrong with him, Ladybug turned to face the former-akuma. 

“Are you okay?” she asked her. The girl nodded. “What happened? Why were you so upset?” 

“I- I don’t fully remember...” the girl began. “All I remember is... I was in my engineering lesson and- and some of the boys laughed at me because I put on makeup—I just wanted to match my new necklace—but they said I was too _ dainty _ to be an engineer and then... then I must have passed out or something. And then I woke up here.” 

Ladybug shook her head, sympathetic. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t very nice of them.” 

“I believe this is yours, my dear?” Chat said as he came to stand beside Ladybug. He stood stiffly, one arm holding his waist, the other holding the necklace out towards the girl. 

The girl took it gratefully, tying it back around her neck. 

“Are _ you _ okay, m’lady?” Chat asked. Ladybug turned to look at him in confusion. 

“What? Yes, of course. I’m fine.” 

“It’s just... your face...” he gestured to her cheek. She lifted a hand and wiped her cheek. Her hand came away in a darker shade of red than usual. Oh. The cut from earlier. 

“It’s nothing. It’s superficial,” she reassured him. He eyed her for a moment more before seeming satisfied. 

He was strange. There were times it was like the world didn’t move fast enough for him but then there were others where she thought she saw a hint of his gentler side. 

“That’s good. Wouldn’t want a scar maring your pretty face,” he winked. She let out a breath. And there went the moment. She shook her head at him. 

“Come on. Let's get you back to class,” Ladybug said, turning back to the girl and offering her a hand. A loud beeping pierced the air and she jumped, almost dropping the girl in her shock. Her spare hand came up to cover her earrings, as though that would give her more time. 

“It’s fine, m’lady. I’ll take care of it,” Chat said, stepping forwards. He dropped to one knee in front of the girl, holding out a hand expectantly. The girl didn’t move, looking conflicted, so Chat dropped his hand, bowing deeply instead. “Chat Noir, at your service.” He winked. “I got this one, Ladybug. Trust me.” 

Yeah, sure. She’ll trust him the day he becomes reliable. Her earrings beeped at her again. But she didn’t have a choice. 

“Fine. But Chat Noir?” he turned innocent green eyes on her, “no funny business, you hear?” 

“I would never, m’lady!” He said, in mock-outrage. She rolled her eyes at him. 

“You better not.” Then she threw her yo-yo at the nearest pole and swung away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a few questions from friends about where they’re living so I thought I would clarify:
> 
> The accommodation is based on a few unis I’ve visited which have individual rooms and a communal kitchen in houses, rather than flats.
> 
> There are two floors: the top floor has 4 rooms and 1 bathroom (including a shower), the bottom floor has only 2 rooms but also a bathroom, the communal kitchen (for the entire house) and, in this story, a laundry room too.
> 
> Hope that clears up any confusion.


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette tapped away at her laptop. After that akuma attack, she’d really gotten off track. She needed to finish this before tomorrow otherwise her day would not go well. She was trying to work out a plan of action for tomorrow: she had her first practical of the year and she wanted to do well. 

She was so engrossed, she almost didn’t hear the light tapping on her window. Marinette ignored it at first. It was probably just a leaf or a bird. But then it sounded again. A strange THUNKing sound. She glanced over her shoulder.

There, on her window sill, curling into himself in an attempt to balance on the thin ledge, was Chat Noir.

She gasped. What was  _ he  _ doing here? Hadn’t she made it clear she didn’t want him around? No… she’d said that as Ladybug.

Marinette spun in her chair and got to her feet, making her way to the window, fully intending to give him a piece of her mind about him randomly showing up. She pulled the window open a sliver. He grabbed it with his hand.

“Marinette,” he said. How did he know her name? His voice was low and there was an edge to it that sounded… strained somehow? “Can I come in?” 

Her head was nodding before she realised what was happening. Well, she’d said yes now. She pulled the window open wide enough for him to slip through. She could’ve opened it wider but some small part of her took joy from the small act of defiance. Chat needed to realise she wouldn’t be like his other fangirls—she wouldn’t give him everything he wanted just because he was a superhero.

He crawled through the gap and landed on her bed, still curled into a ball. One hand—the hand that had grabbed the window—gave her a small salute in thanks. The other was pressed against his abdomen. 

Marinette had had enough of him already. Who did he think he was? Coming into her home, acting like he owned the place. She shouldn’t have let him in.

“What do you want, Chat Noir?” She asked coldly.

“Not happy to see me, Princess?” He said rather breathlessly. 

“You’re on my bed.”

“I am.”

“Why are you here?”

“You let me in.” He had an infuriatingly smug grin on his face. Marinette growled.

“Why were you on my window sill, Chat Noir?” God, why was he so annoying? She still had over half of her project to plan and, to do that, she needed him to  _ leave. _

Chat leant forwards, his face inching closer to Marinette’s. She fought the urge to take a step back. “Maybe I just wanted to see-“ He broke off with a grimace, curling back into himself. Chat deflated. All his bravado disappeared in an instant. Suddenly, he wasn’t Chat Noir, Hero of Paris and a royal pain in her butt, but Chat Noir, someone with the weight of an entire city on their shoulders. He had never looked so tiny.

“I didn’t know where else to go.” His voice was barely a murmur. Marinette wasn’t sure how to react to the sudden change in atmosphere. She could tell something wasn’t right—she’d never seen him anything other than smugly cracking a joke.

“What do you mean?” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Chat Noir,” she ducked her head, trying to catch his eye, “what do you mean?”

For a moment, neither moved. Then slowly, so slowly, Chat lifted his hand from his abdomen. 

Marinette’s eyes caught on his palm. The leather was darker and looked wet to the touch. Her eyes widened. Her gaze flicked down to where he’d been clutching his stomach.

The leather was torn, the edges jagged where it had been ripped mercilessly. The suit was slick with blood down his left side. She couldn’t see where the blood ended and the injury started. She let out a gasp.

“How…?” She asked, stretching a hand toward him to examine the wound, a silent question in her hesitation. He rolled his shoulders back, allowing her a better view.

“The akuma earlier.” He admitted almost sheepishly. “I thought I was clear but…” he inclined his head towards the slash in his side. “Well, evidentially I wasn’t.”

Marinette had thought she’d seen him get hit during the battle but he had  _ seemed _ fine. And even if he wasn’t, surely her miraculous ladybugs would have fixed him? Should she have asked him? 

An icy wave of guilt flooded through her. This wasn’t her fault, was it? She barely knew Chat Noir, barely spoke to him, barely interacted with him at all! She couldn’t have known. But she couldn’t shake the feeling she should have noticed. 

Her hands hovered over his side, not quite sure what to do. Chat shifted on the bed, bringing his hand—the non-bloodied one—up to meet her own. He let his hand brush hers.

“What about Ladybug?” She asked, ignoring the niggling knowledge that technically he would still be coming to the same person. But why  _ her? _ Why Marinette? As far as Chat Noir knew, Marinette was just a normal citizen. 

“I can’t- She wouldn’t… like weakness and I-” He cut himself off with a shake off his head. Then he winced. He looked up, meeting her gaze. “I trust you, Marinette,” he said. 

_ You don’t even know me! _ She wanted to scream. 

She glanced up, meeting his gaze. It was open, vulnerable. He really believed she was deserving of his faith? She hadn’t even checked he was okay! She should’ve made sure he wasn’t injured afterwards, or gone to him when he’d gone down or... or… something!

She shook her head, shoving her guilt to the corner of her mind. He was bleeding out in her bed. He needed her help.

She got to her feet.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back,” she told him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Chat said weakly. He was leaning on one hand, the other gripping the bedcovers tightly. Marinette was going to need to bleach her bedding once this was over.

She hurried to the bathroom, wincing when she knocked a shampoo bottle flying. She glanced over at Adrien’s door apologetically. It was closed—he was probably sleeping, it was quite late.

She tore through the cupboard, pulling out bandages, microporous tape and antiseptic. She made a quick pit stop to the kitchen, grabbing some heavy-duty tea towels. She’d worry about washing them later. She raced back to her room.

Chat’s eyes were shut, his head leaning back against the wall. He was so pale. She hadn’t noticed it earlier but his normal lightly tanned skin was almost as pale as the wall behind him. He looked up when she entered, eyes struggling to focus.

“Lay down,” she told him, using her Ladybug surety. He did as he was told, resting his head on her pillow. “Okay,” she said, uncapping the antiseptic, “this may sting a little.” 

She gave him no time to argue, tipping the medicinal solution onto a tea towel and pressing it against his side. His eyes shot open and he barely stifled a cry of pain, his knees coming up to his chest as he curled in on himself instinctively. Marinette paused, pulling back at his movement. But she needed to do this. She gently pushed his legs out of the way, trying not to hurt him by forcing them down. She tightened her grip on the cloth and dabbed it against his wound again. Chat’s head flung back, hitting her pillow with a muffled thump as he let out a sharp breath. She ignored him, focusing on cleaning the wound as best as she could. She did  _ not _ want it to get infected. 

“Hold this,” she said, grabbing his hand and pressing it onto the now-red tea-towel while she grabbed another one. She wet the second and gently wiped the blood away from the rest of the suit. He silently watched her the whole time, green eyes following her movements.

“Okay and lift?” She said when she was finished. She threw the ruined tea-towel to one side. He moved his hand from the antiseptic-cloth. Carefully, Marinette grabbed it and lifted it off the wound. It didn’t look… bad? Obviously it wasn’t exactly great that it was there in the first place but it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. 

It was a thin slice going diagonally across his midriff; the whole thing was about the length of her forearm and the deepest part was still bleeding sluggishly. Ideally, she’d want to wait until the blood had stopped completely but this would have to do. Now… how did she wrap it?

“Can you take the suit off?” She asked. She’d never checked in the Ladybug suit—she’d never needed to—but it would make her life a lot easier if it did. Unfortunately, he shook his head. “Damn.” She couldn’t leave it unwrapped. “Can you detransform? I won’t look, I promise.” 

Chat still looked wary despite her reassurances. She didn’t blame him, she’d be worried if her identity as Ladybug was threatened too. She glanced around, spotting a scarf on the floor. She grabbed it and deftly tied it around her head, covering her eyes. 

“Tell me when I can look. I need to bandage that wound and I can’t do it when you’re in the suit.” 

There was silence for a moment then, “Plagg, claws in,” and a strange whooshing. She felt him shuffling around on the bed for a moment then a hand on her face.

“Can I borrow this?” He asked, giving the scarf a gentle tug.

“Okay,” Marinette closed her eyes and untied the scarf, letting Chat take it. He was silent for a moment,

“Okay, you can look now,” he said, his voice muffled. Marinette opened her eyes. He had tied the scarf around his face, covering it completely. The second thing she noticed was his bare chest. His shirt lay on the bed beside him, discarded in a haphazard heap. No, not haphazard, she realised. It was folded messily in half, one of the sleeves tucked inside while the other stuck out at a right angle. Well, it was an attempt?

Marinette tried not to think too much about the fact that she had Chat Noir half-naked in her bed. Hopefully no one came in because this would  _ not _ be easy to explain. 

“I’m going to bandage it now,” she told him, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. She grabbed a large dressing pad and gently pressed it over the worst of the slice. She tore a piece of microporous tape off and stuck the pad in place. The bandages went on next. She grabbed the reel and carefully wrapped it around his midriff, covering the rest of the wound. She pulled it taut, silently apologising as he let out a pained gasp, and fastened it securely with a safety pin.

“I think you’re done,” she said, glancing up at his scarf-covered face. Chat sat up slowly, pulling the scarf tight against his face so he could look through it.

“It looks good,” he said. Then he turned to her. She couldn’t see his face through the scarf but his head tilted and, somehow, she knew he was grateful. “Plagg, claws out.” He was engulfed in a green light. Where he had sat shirtless was Chat Noir in his iconic suit once again. 

He handed Marinette her scarf. The suit was whole again, all traces of blood gone. If she hadn’t known he was injured, she might never have guessed. 

“Thank you, Marinette,” he said.

“It was no trouble,” she said automatically. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Chat shifted on the bed, propping himself up against the headboard. His eyes trailed over the bloodied sheets. He winced.

“Sorry about your bed,” he said. She shrugged. It couldn’t be helped. There was silence for a moment. Chat’s eyes slipped closed and his head hit his chest, startling himself awake. Marinette watched him with concern in her eyes.

“Did you want to stay tonight?” She asked before she could think it through. He blinked up at her.

“You’ve done so much for me already,” he said, shaking his head. 

“Chat, you’re falling asleep. I don’t know how far away you live but you shouldn’t travel like that,” she said. Wow, she was really going through with this. Given she’d wanted him nothing more than for him to leave earlier, this development came as a surprise. But, for some reason, she couldn’t bear the thought of letting him go. “Besides, it would probably be a good idea to keep an eye on you. I- uh. In case it gets infected.”

It was testament to how exhausted Chat was that he didn’t pick up on the obvious innuendo. Tired green eyes met worried blue.

“Okay,” he finally relented. “Will we share the bed?” Marinette glanced around. She didn’t have anywhere else to sleep and there was no sofa nearby. 

“Yeah, I guess we will.” Chat shuffled over to make space for her. She clambered into the bed beside him, careful not to jog his injury. 

Chat’s eyes were bleary, half-closed as she settled herself. She turned on her side, trying to give him as much room as she could in a single bed. His eyes slid over her face. He frowned.

“Your face,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. Slowly, he lifted a hand to it and brushed her cheek. Oh. The cut. 

“It’s nothing, Chat,” she said, catching his hand and returning it to his side. “I just caught myself with my scissors earlier.” His eyes remained fixed to the thin cut, despite the toll Marinette could see even just staying focused was taking on him. Chat’s eyelids drooped. “You need rest. Sleep now.” She prompted.

His gaze stayed on her a moment longer but he couldn’t fight it forever. Eventually, his eyes fluttered closed, his breathing evened and his wrist went limp where she still held it in her hand.

Marinette stayed awake, watching Chat’s chest rise and fall regularly. Occasionally, he would breathe in too deeply and his breathing would stutter, pained, but it would return to its normal rhythm soon enough.

Soon, she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She allowed them to slip shut.

Sleep came surprisingly easily.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one. I had a lot of fun writing it. I love some good whump (and, for you fellow whump lovers, don't fret. There's more on the way!)
> 
> I have chapter 5 ready to go and chapter 6 is being beta'd as I write this. 
> 
> I'm not gonna give you the exact dates I'm gonna upload those because I don't want to be disappointing anyone if I don't make those dates for whatever reason (also I don't have exact dates to give you). Just know, they'll be uploaded when I feel like it. I generally like to have at least two extra chapters done before uploading one just so if I do end up stuck with writer's block, there less pressure on myself to force myself to write.
> 
> A massive thank you to everyone who commented (I'm sorry I don't have your usernames with me rn). I appreciate every comment I get so much. Talk to any of my friends and they'll tell you I derail conversations to read the comments every time I get one.
> 
> And to everyone leaving kudos and reading, thank you to you too! I'm glad you're here, reading my work and I hope you're enjoying it!
> 
> Anyways, thats all from me. I shall see you again soon! Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

Chat was gone when Marinette woke up. 

The side where he’d curled up had been smoothed and straightened. Aside from the faint smears of old blood, there was no sign that there had ever been an injured superhero in her bed. 

Marinette glanced over at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It read 7:30. 

She had no early morning lectures today but, after last night, she felt too wired to roll over and go back to sleep. Besides, the thought of laying in a blood-stained bed any longer turned her stomach. She wasn’t entirely sure how she’d managed to fall asleep the night before. 

She slid out of the bed and began stripping it, bundling the bed clothes into a pile in her arms. She dumped them into her dirty washing basket so she could carry them easier, then left her room in search of the launderette. 

The launderette was next to the bathroom—it was a small room, with just enough space for a single washing machine and a dryer. 

The washing machine whirled away as she opened the door. 

_ Damn, someone was already using it.  _

Placing her basket down on top of the inactive dryer, Marinette pulled a laundry token out of her pocket and put it down on top of the washer. She still hadn’t had a chance, between her first lectures and the akuma yesterday, to meet the rest of her housemates yet so she could only hope they would respect the unspoken agreement inherent in the lone token. 

She couldn’t do anything until whoever’s washing was finished so she retreated out of the laundry room. 

The lights were on in the kitchen as she passed, much like yesterday. She paused in her stride for a moment, considering her options. She had nothing else to do and it might be one of her other housemates. She shrugged, stepping towards the kitchen and opening the door. 

There were two people in the kitchen this morning: Adrien, who she knew—she felt her face flush at the sight of him—and another guy who sat with his back to her, who she didn’t. He had mid-length blue hair, cut into a messy bob. His long fringe fell in his eyes when he glanced up at her. 

The two paused in their conversation at the sound of the door opening. 

“H-hi,” Marinette said. This must be another of her housemates! 

“Hi,” the other guy said, turning in his seat so he could see her. “I’m Luka.” 

“Marinette,” she said. Should she curtsy? No, that was weird. 

“Nice to meet you, Marinette,” he said with a nod of his head. Then he turned back around to Adrien. Adrien had watched the entire exchange with a somewhat amused smile on his face. He looked paler than he had yesterday and he held himself stiffly, but his smile, when he caught her looking, was as wide and genuine as ever. 

Maybe it was just the light. 

Marinette crossed the kitchen to the cupboard where she’d stored her food. She grabbed a muffin from the cake box. She had baked them especially so she’d have breakfast for the first few days. Of course, that had gone somewhat out the window the morning before when she’d had to rush out quite unexpectedly. But they needed eating up. At least she could enjoy them today. 

“Another early morning lecture?” Adrien spoke up suddenly, watching her wrestle with the box. She was never very good at opening these boxes once she’d closed them—there were too many tabs! 

“Uh, no,” she admitted, finally managing to wrangle the patisserie box open. “But I couldn’t sleep and I had some washing to do anyway so…” she trailed off awkwardly. “You?” 

“Yeah. Most of mine are morning ones,” he told her. His alarm beeped at him then, telling him he needed to go. “That’s me off.” He said, getting to his feet. 

He pushed himself up on the table, wincing. He grabbed his plate and spun, heading towards the kitchen but misjudged the distance between himself and the table and managed to just clip the edge of the table. 

Marinette watched numbly as the plate slipped from his fingers, smashing on impact. He gasped loudly, his hands flying to his hip as he bent double as though all the air had been knocked out of him. His hand flew out, grabbing the table. Marinette flinched, taking a step towards him. What just happened? 

“Are you okay?” she asked, holding a comforting hand out towards him. He nodded; his breathing ragged. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said breathlessly, “Sharp table.” He laughed but there was no humour in it. His phone buzzed again. He checked the screen. “I need to go,” he said, one hand still pressed protectively over his hip. He moved to pick up his bag but paused at the sight of the plate in pieces on the floor. “I- uh… I should clean this up.” He glanced around, looking for a broom or a dustpan-and-brush. 

Marinette took a step towards him, shaking her head. “It’s fine. I’ve got it. You don’t want to be late for your lecture.” 

“Thank you, Marinette,” Adrien nodded, his eyes shining with gratitude. “See you later.” 

He grabbed his bag with his free hand and all but ran out the door. Marinette watched him leave, her brow furrowed. Something didn’t seem right about that picture. 

“Uh... well... that was... weird,” Luka said. Marinette nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah...” Surely, he would’ve said something if he was hurt? She shook her head to clear it. There was nothing she could do until he was back; there was no point worrying unnecessarily. She dropped her muffin on the table, then reached for the broom and started clearing the broken plate up. 

“So, Luka. You have something this early?” 

He nodded. “Band practice,” he said, gesturing to the guitar case on the stool beside him. 

“You play?” Marinette asked, eyes wide. She’d always loved the idea of playing an instrument but she’d never had the patience for it. Anyone who could play was impressive in her eyes. 

“Yeah. Been playing since I was eight. I used to steal my dad’s guitar and pluck at it. Wasn’t very good, of course. But my mum saw how much it meant to me and bought me all the books. And my dad would give me lessons.” Luka paused. 

Marinette looked up from where she was kneeling on the floor to finish clearing up the shards of ceramic littering the floor. Luka was staring off into space, a smile on his face. He shrugged. 

“I like playing. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the ears are the door to the heart.” He caught Marinette’s gaze and ducked his head in embarrassment. “Or something like that.” 

“I liked it,” Marinette said. She turned back to the shattered plate and finished sweeping it into the dustpan, then emptied it into the bin. 

“Hey,” Luka said from behind her, his voice concerned. “Did you get hit by a plate shard?” 

“What?” Marinette asked, turning to face him. 

“Your face. You have a cut.” He gestured to his own cheek. “There.” 

Marinette lifted one hand to her face. Her cheek stung as her fingers brushed the cut on her face. She’d forgotten about it again. 

“Oh. Yeah, its fine. I managed to catch myself with some scissors yesterday,” she said. 

“On your face?” Her platitudes hadn’t seemed to have subdued his worry. 

“Yeah. I’m clumsy; I’m used to being covered in all sorts of bumps and scrapes.” She said, walking over to where she knew there was a first aid kit. “It’s nothing.” She unzipped the bag and pulled out some antiseptic wipes and a large plaster, making quick work of patching up her minor injury. After sorting out Chat Noir last night, this was child’s play. 

“See,” She said, turning to show him her now-plastered cheek. “All better.” 

“Okay, if you say so,” Luka said with the hint of a smile. His eyes wandered over to the clock on the wall. “I should probably get going.” He stood up, grabbing his guitar and slinging it over his shoulder. “It’s been lovely talking to you, Marinette. Hopefully, I’ll see you around.” 

“Yeah. I’d like that.” She said. He turned and walked out the door, waving goodbye. 

She glanced up at the clock, which now read 8:00. Hopefully that other load would be finished by now. 

It was silent as she pushed the door to the launderette open. As expected, the washing machine was finished. Unfortunately, there were still clothes in it. 

She felt somewhat uncomfortable about touching other people’s clothes but she needed to get hers through. It was like an itch she couldn’t scratch and, every second her sheets remained dirty, she got more agitated. So she prayed whoever it was wouldn’t mind and moved their washing into the dryer, taking care to make sure everything she put in was definitely fine to go in. 

Luckily, there wasn’t anything particularly embarrassing. It was a very similar load to her own: a few bed coverings and a hoodie. It was a very small load. 

She stuck the dryer on for an hour and pressed “Start” before turning to her own pile and doing the same. 

Once she heard the low thrumming of the washing machine as it filled up with water, Marinette felt herself relax somewhat. She breathed a sigh of relief. 

Now. What to do with the remainder of her day? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this has taken so long to post! I’ve had it written for months but I never got around to uploading it for some reason. Chapter 6 (which is a personal favourite of mine) should also be up so I hope you enjoy these two chapters! 
> 
> Hopefully I can write some more soon but between applying to unis and having mocks, it’s been a wild ride.


	6. Chapter 6

Adrien traipsed back to the house. His entire body felt heavy: his arms ached from carrying his books all day and he continually tripped as his feet dragged against the ground. If he’d had more energy he might have winced at the probably irreparable damage the tarmac was doing to his shoes—oh if his father could see him now—but, as it was, his energy had been zapped by the large, throbbing gash in his side. 

His chest screamed at him with every breath and every step he took sent a new wave of agony lancing through his side. Even Plagg’s weight in his pocket—as small and non-invasive as it was—felt like he was being suffocated. He _ hurt. _

He just needed to get back to the house and his room and then he could sit down for a bit. On a comfy seat. That wasn’t made out of the hardest plastic in existence. _ God_, that sounded nice. 

Adrien glanced up. He could just about make out the roof of his house. _ Why was it so far??? _

_ Okay, he could do this. _

He fixed his eyes firmly on his feet. One step, two steps, three steps, four steps. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. 

He gritted his teeth as he tripped over an uneven patch, barely catching himself before he fell. He blinked back the tears that welled in his eyes as the harsh movement sent another sharp jolt through his side. 

A journey that should have taken maybe five minutes tops took nearer to fifteen. By the time he reached the door, Adrien was shaking so violently he could barely get his keys in the door. Next time, he was _ so _ listening to Plagg and not bothering to turn up. God, this sucked. 

Finally, the keys slid into the lock. He turned them hastily, pushing the door open. His side twinged again as he stretched his arm and he flinched back. He paused in the doorway, allowing himself a moment to just stop, one hand curling round the door handle for support. 

He breathed out a sigh. Almost there. 

Adrien stumbled towards his room, letting his bag slide off his shoulder onto the floor the minute he stepped in. His bed looked so inviting and his feet turned towards it instinctively. He flopped back onto it, foolishly having forgotten his injury—somehow—which very quickly made itself known once again. He rolled onto his side, biting down on his fingers to keep from crying out. 

He hated this. He really, really hated this. 

He wasn’t exactly unused to the injuries that came with being Chat Noir. It was true that his superhero alter ego brought out all of his impulsive tendencies that a strictly mandated routine and a ever-present watchful eye had managed to mostly suppress. 

It was also true that he didn’t shy away from throwing himself headfirst into situations without much of a plan and crawled back out of them to run away and lick his wounds. 

But, for all his time as Chat Noir, he could safely say he’d never taken a hit as bad as this. 

This one stung and throbbed _ constantly. _ He’d barely slept the night before in Marinette’s bed when every breath sent a stabbing sensation through his abdomen again. 

How he’d managed to keep going for so long was still a mystery to him. 

He’d tried sorting it out himself but his measly pack of Spider-Man plasters and wet Kleenex tissues just hadn’t seemed to cut it. He’d just made an even bigger mess. 

He hadn’t dared go near the antiseptic, barely able to stomach cleaning it with plain water. And he was right to have been scared; when Marinette had disinfected it, he had thought he’d died for a moment. His vision had gone pure, blinding white and all he could feel was _ pain. _

Adrien shifted on the bed, a feeling of restlessness taking root at having been sat still for so long, but he froze again as his side twinged again. 

Okay. This wasn’t working. 

He rolled off the bed and stood up, gritting his teeth against the thousand needles shooting across his skin at the movement. One arm looping across his waist as though it would stop the wound from hurting, he limped to his desk and sat down heavily in the chair. 

He could do homework. It would take his mind off it. It was on particle physics—his favourite—so it wasn’t too much of a chore. Adrien pulled his bag towards him, careful not to jolt his injury, and fished his laptop out. 

He set it up on the desk, quickly logging in and opening the physics platform. It was his only homework currently, with it only being the third day—and only the second of lessons. 

Adrien worked tirelessly. The work took his mind off the pain, just like he’d thought it would and he revelled in it. He finished the particle physics homework and then kept going, working through extension tasks and, when even that wasn’t enough, reading ahead in the textbook and trying to understand the more complicated later assignments. 

By the time he finally surfaced, his stomach was angrily growling at him and Plagg was complaining about how he would- 

“-waste away from the lack of Camembert! I’m neglected!” The kwami cried, dramatically fainting and falling into Adrien’s lap. Adrien rolled his eyes at Plagg’s theatrics. 

“You’re ridiculous. You’re not going to waste away.” 

“I might!” The kwami insisted. “Look at me! Do I not look thinner than this morning?” 

“Nope.” Adrien said, popping the ‘p’. “But I need to get some food anyway. Come on. I’m pretty sure I left some Camembert in the fridge for you.” The change was instant: Plagg stopped flopping over Adrien’s leg in an imitation of a poor, starving damsel and flew up, completely a loop-de-loop in the air, whooping the entire time. Adrien shook his head fondly. 

He pushed himself to his feet, then had to grab the desk with one hand and the chair with the other so he didn’t fall over. He let go of the desk, wrapping his arm around his abdomen protectively. He squeezed his eyes shut, his legs shaking as he held himself still, waiting for the pain to pass. 

“Kid?” Plagg’s voice was soft, so unlike the celebratory shouting he’d been doing not two seconds before. 

“I’m f-fine, Plagg,” Adrien wheezed, breathless. 

“I can get my own Camembert,” he said. “I know where it is. I could bring you back some too. If there’s any left, of course.” 

Adrien shook his head. “No,” he said, opening his eyes and looking up at Plagg. “Thank you, but I’m really okay.” 

“Your loss,” Plagg shrugged. 

“I’m getting there. Just… give me a second.” When the pain had finally subsided, Adrien drew himself to his full height cautiously, testing the pain points. He let out a breath. “To the kitchen then.” 

“Yes! Oh, sweet Camembert! I can hear you calling my name!” If he noticed Plagg’s performance was somewhat lacklustre compared to usual, Adrien didn’t comment on it. Just as he didn’t comment on how Plagg stayed closer than usual, hovering only slightly in front and shooting a concerned glance behind him every few seconds. 

*** 

The kitchen was empty when Adrien entered, just as the hall had been, so he let Plagg grab the Camembert from the fridge, as he turned to and started throwing a ham and cheese toastie together for himself. 

Adrien grabbed two plates from the cupboard, placing one down on the side and letting Plagg place the stinking cheese on it, and flipping his toastie out onto the other. Then he grabbed both and returned to his room, asking Plagg to remind him to come back and tidy up the kitchen. 

The two settled down on the bed, Adrien taking care to slowly lower himself onto it so as not to disturb his injury… again. 

They ate in silence. 

Adrien was ravenous. He hadn’t looked at the clock yet but he could tell it was quite late. The house was eerily quiet and the streetlamp outside his window was on, casting it’s yellow light into an otherwise dark sky. 

He hadn’t entirely meant to get so invested in his work but he didn’t regret it. He rather enjoyed school still, despite Plagg’s ever-increasing list of reasons why he shouldn’t, and nothing more so than physics. He wasn’t surprised that he’d ended up hyperfocusing. 

“Your washing is done, by the way.” Plagg piped up suddenly, cutting through Adrien’s thoughts. He tossed another slice of Camembert into his mouth. 

“Oh no! I forgot about that!” Adrien let out a growl of annoyance. Great, now he’d have to put it back through again so it wouldn’t smell. And it was his favourite hoodie! Ugh. He’d just been wondering where that was. “I’ll sort it out later.” 

“Your choice, kid.” Plagg said. Adrien finished his toastie and placed his plate down carefully on the windowsill behind him—mindful of his accident earlier. He gazed outside. 

The moon was high in the sky, a brilliant white against a velvet sky. It was full tonight as well. 

His dad had given him book upon book written in beautiful, flowing prose describing the warm summer breeze as the light of the sun sent shafts of golden light cascading down through the green leaves of the trees. And it _ was _ beautiful, he couldn’t attest that. 

But, personally, Adrien was always more fascinated by the night. He’d always loved the freedom that darkness brought, how quiet and how peaceful it was. 

Whenever he was locked in his room for disobeying his father’s orders—which happened a lot in the days before Natalie—he would gaze out his windows and watch the clouds roll over the moon, the light dimming until the clouds would float away and the moon would glow at full brightness once more. 

He would imagine walking through streets far away, his path illuminated by only the moon in the sky above. 

So many nights he would spend sitting at the foot of his bed, staring out at the moon until he was physically unable to stay awake any longer. And when he slept, he would dream of running through the night, looking up at a thousand stars. He would often wake up the next morning, an itch in both his legs—a need to move, to run, to _ go. _

He felt that same itch now. 

“Plagg,” he said, breaking the silence that had stretched between them. “I want to go out.” Plagg paused, a block of Camembert halfway to his mouth. He followed Adrien’s gaze through the window to the world washed in white that lay behind it. His gaze softened but when he spoke his voice was firm. 

“You’re injured, kid. Absolutely not,” he put the cheese in his mouth, chewing for a moment before continuing. “And anyway, it’s late. I’m not doing it.” Adrien didn’t move from the window. “Kid?” 

“Plagg?” Adrien spoke, his voice quiet. 

“Yes?” 

“Claws out!” 

“Woah- hey! No-“ Plagg cried as he felt himself pulled backwards. Adrien wasn’t fit to go out as Chat Noir, he couldn’t let him act so recklessly on a common whim that he could fulfil _ any other time _. He wouldn’t go inside the r- 

And he was inside the ring. So much for that plan. 

Chat Noir pulled open his window, checking for civilians before creeping all the way out and pulling the window back down—enough that it didn’t look obviously open but not enough that he wouldn’t be able to get back in later. 

He straightened, flinching as his side flared with pain once again. It didn’t matter though, because his attention was soon captured by the moon sitting high in the sky. It smiled down at him and he grinned right back. 

This was _ his _ element. This was _ his _time. There was nowhere else he could be more himself than in the night, underneath the full moon. 

Sometimes, he wondered if he was part-werewolf too. 

Chat extended his pole, vaulting onto the roof of the house. It was sloped and, at first, he struggled to get a good foothold, but eventually he was able to settle into a relaxed stance. 

The silence stretched around him, the darkness broken only by the lampposts in the street below and the moon above them, every student’s room was dark, lights out or curtains drawn. And- wait… no. That wasn’t true. 

A single room still had its lights on and curtains open for the world to see. Marinette. 

Chat shrugged to himself—then winced as that sent pain lancing through his abdomen. He could pay her a visit. Then he could thank her. 

He hadn’t been very awake for most of their exchange. Or for any of it. He remembered landing on her windowsill and waking up in her bed early the next morning but whatever happened in the middle was blurry and jumbled. 

_ Yeah. That sounded like a plan. _

Carefully, he lowered himself onto her windowsill, balancing on the precarious ledge. His feet could touch the floor from this height if he wanted them to but the drama queen in him preferred the theatrics of perching, cat-like, on the ledge. 

He rapped a knuckle against the window. 

Inside, he could see her look up from her computer in confusion, head whipping around to find the source of the noise. 

He knocked again. 

Finally, she turned to look at him. Chat watched as she tensed, getting up from her chair and all but running over to the window, her worry evident on her face. 

“Chat Noir,” she greeted as she opened the window, stepping aside to let him in. He took the invitation, crawling in and settling himself on her bed. “Are you okay? Are you hurt again? What’s up?” 

Ah. He had forgotten to account for the small fact that his last—and, currently, only other—visit to hers had been when he was delirious and bleeding out. Not a great first impression. 

“I’m fine, Princess,” he said, pasting a smirk onto his face. “Not even a scratch on me.” He told her, getting to his feet and giving her a twirl, showing off the now-whole again suit. “See?” 

It was a small lie but, clearly, it had been the right thing to say because some of the tension bled out of Marinette’s shoulders. 

“But… how? It was so bad yesterday. I thought-“ 

“Advanced healing factor. It comes with the snazzy suit.” He said, posing for her again to punctuate his point. Again, a small white lie. He _ did _ have a pretty neat healing factor but even it couldn’t heal things _ that _fast. But she didn’t need to know that. Not if it would just stress her out. 

“If you’re not hurt, what brings you to my windowsill?” 

“Can I not just drop by to see my favourite person?” 

“_ I’m _ your favourite person? What about Ladybug?” 

“_ Such _ a killjoy. Reminds me of my dad in that way.” Chat said, watching Marinette’s face for her reaction. Since the two superheroes had first appeared, they’d had a pretty solid fan base. Generally, you were either Team Chat or Team Ladybug. Few tended to like both, though some insisted that the two would be a great couple. Chat didn’t see it. He was curious which side Marinette was on. “And that’s not a compliment.” He added. 

“I’m sure she tries her best,” Marinette said. “It’s not her fault you’re always being reckless and getting yourself into trouble. Or injured!” She continued, gesturing at his side. Team Ladybug then. 

“Well, let’s not bring this night down. It’s only just begun!” Chat said, throwing his arms out in a dramatic flourish. His side protested the movement and he fought down a flinch. 

“It’s midnight,” Marinette said, matter-of-factly. 

“Point still stands,” he said, shrugging. She made no move to continue the conversation, instead, just staring at him as though daring him to continue. It was somewhat nerve wracking. 

“Okay, okay. You’re right. I’ll go. Leave you to your beauty sleep.” He turned to go then paused, glancing over his shoulder at her and meeting her eyes. “I wanted to say thank you. For last night. For patching me up and for making sure I was okay. I appreciated it. I _ appreciate _it.” He turned back to the window. “That’s all I wanted to say. Good night, Princess.” 

Then he hooked his leg out the window and vaulted back over the roof to his own room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favourite chapter so far, both to write but also in how it turned out. I had a lot of fun writing from Adrien’s POV so there will probably be more from his perspective in future. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one as I much as I did!


	7. Chapter 7

Marinette was not happy when, at 7:30, she awoke to the sound of her alarm blaring in her ear. Groaning, she rolled over and smacked it repeatedly until it turned off. She sagged back against the mattress, tempted to pull the duvet back over her and go back to sleep. 

But she couldn’t. 

She had a test later today and she’d promised herself that she’d go to the library first thing and try and get some revision in. It wasn’t a particularly serious test—it was only meant to gauge their abilities—but she still wanted to do well. Fashion was something she was really, truly passionate about and her own personal standards for herself meant that a part of her _ needed _ to be top of the class, even in something as minor as this. 

So, begrudgingly, she slid out from the warmth of her bed and got dressed. 

***

The kitchen was empty when she got there. So far, she hadn’t had a single morning with the kitchen to herself and she was surprised by how quickly she had gotten used to eating breakfast with someone else. 

Double-checking the hallway, just in case, Marinette let Tikki out of her pocket.

“You can grab yourself something while I have breakfast, if you want. There’s no one around,”

“Okay, Marinette!” The kwami replied before zooming into one of the cupboards. Tikki didn’t like being out in the open in public places, even when there was no one around so Marinette wasn’t surprised when Tikki stayed in the cupboard, instead of joining her. 

It was okay, she told herself. She’d rather Tikki was comfortable. Besides, the kitchen wasn’t the best place for Tikki to be out in the open anyway so she understood her kwami’s reasoning. 

She did wish that she didn’t have to eat alone, though. 

Marinette finished quickly, washing up her plate and leaving it on the rack to dry before opening the cupboard and retrieving Tikki. The kwami was quite happily sitting on a bag of flour, waiting patiently for Marinette to collect her. She got up as the door opened and flew into Marinette’s open bag, nestling herself comfortably within the lining.

“Time to start the day, then,” Marinette said, mostly to herself. She walked through the hallway, hesitating as she passed Adrien’s door. She hadn’t heard from him since yesterday morning when he’d been acting strange. Was it weird if she checked on him? They barely knew each other after all. But he had seemed pale…

Lost in her thoughts, Marinette didn’t notice the door slowly creaking open until she was staring directly at Adrien. Speak of the devil.

“Oh. Marinette. Um… hi,” Adrien stuttered.

“A- Adrien!” She cried, startled by his sudden appearance. “How morning is this for you? O- or, how is this morning for you? I mean… how are you?” Seriously? She was hopeless.

“Yeah… I’m good,” he said, nodding. An awkward silence stretched between them. “We- well, I should probably go…”

“Yeah, me too,” Marinette agreed, a little too quickly. She all but legged it out of there, tripping over herself to get out the door as fast as possible before she could embarrass herself any further.

She’d barely taken a step outside before a white beam of light scorched the ground by her feet. She yelped and jumped backwards into the doorway. What was that? An akuma? Again?

Marinette took a hesitant step forwards, craning her neck to see if she could see her attacker. 

Whoever it was was faced away from her, apparently having lost interest. They wore a black blazer, unbuttoned and slipping off one of their shoulders, revealing a crisp, stark-white shirt underneath. They clutched a textbook in their hands. If Marinette hadn’t just been almost hit by an akuma blast, she would’ve written them off as another university student, probably a business major, who felt the need to dress to impress at all times.

But Marinette could see an emblem stitched into the blazer: Les Écoles Tunon, one of the few French schools that still enforced a uniform. 

That was weird in and of itself. If this was an akuma, why was their form their previous uniform? She had so many questions that she needed answers to before she could take this one down but, first, she needed to get somewhere safe and transform. She couldn’t do anything as Marinette.

_ So much for studying _, she thought to herself bitterly as she edged around her house, diving into a nearby bike shelter. 

“Tikki, spots on,” she said, trying to keep her voice low. The last thing she needed right now was for some over-eager fitness student to walk in on her. 

She felt the familiar energy wash over her. 

Ladybug ducked back out of the bike shelter, eyes immediately fixed on the possible akuma. They were standing in the same position as she’d left them, seemingly completely fixated on whatever they were doing. She needed a better view.

She leapt up, sailing over the buildings and landing delicately on the roof of the house. The akuma seemed not to have heard her as they still did not react. She squinted at them, trying to work out what they were so engrossed in. Were they… reading the textbook? Maybe… maybe this wasn’t an akuma? Maybe she’d misremembered the strange beam? Maybe she was losing her touch?

The student turned and she could finally see their face in detail. It was a guy, that much she could tell. His messy red hair flopped over his face, surely obscuring his vision. His shirt which, from behind, had looked pristine, was covered in red pen; scrawling ‘F’s stood stark against the pure white of the shirt. His blazer sleeves were cuffed unevenly, one rolled to almost his elbow, while the other still covered his wrist. The school insignia she had recognised before was torn, hanging onto the blazer with only a few threads. 

His outfit was… strange definitely. But that didn’t make him an akuma. 

The guy glanced up, noticing Ladybug for the first time. His lips pulled up, his expression morphing to a sickly sweet smile. Ladybug didn’t like that look.

He raised the textbook above his head, turning it to face her. Ladybug fought the urge to bolt. Other than the beam of light that, truth be told, might have just been her imagination, he hadn’t given her any reason to think he was dangerous. Maybe he was just a massive fan? That didn’t ease her worry much. She tensed up, ready to run anyway.

He flung the textbook open. The same beam she’d seen earlier came shooting towards her. Her eyes widened as she realised her mistake. Her feet moved, propelling her sideways but her brain told her she wouldn’t have enough time to get out of there before it hit her.

A flicker of black in her vision and suddenly she was being slammed into the hard, unyielding roof of her house. She blinked her eyes open slowly. A figure, clad all in black, crouched over her, his head tucked into his chest. Chat Noir. 

“Chat,” she said in lieu of a greeting. His head snapped towards the noise.

“Ladybug,” he said in return, his voice breathy. No irritatingly suave ‘m’lady’? Strange. He pushed himself off her, rising to his feet. “You okay? Did you get hit?”

“No,” she said immediately then paused. Did she? She wasn’t sure. She shook her head. Why was she so unsure of herself today?

“Good,” Chat said. “So, what’s the plan?” Ladybug blinked. Chat was deferring to her for a plan? She could not remember a single time in the three years they’d been active that he’d _ ever _asked for her thoughts before jumping in. Why now?

“I’m not sure,” she began. “I was trying to see what we’re working with here but then he saw me and… well, y’know what happened.” Chat nodded, although he didn’t look at her, preferring instead to remain scanning the environment around him. “But the textbook seems to be his weapon. Rather unconventional, admittedly. Maybe the akuma is in there?”

“I’ll trust your judgement.” He shouldn’t. She barely trusted herself. What was _ up _ with her today?

“Where’s the akuma now?” She asked him. Hopefully, his searching while she had been speaking had paid off. 

“Over there, I believe,” he said, raising one clawed finger to point towards the main campus. Fear trilled through her body. She still didn’t know what the akuma could do or how dangerous he was. If he got to the main campus, the students there would be easy pickings. Who knew what devastation they would be met with?

“We need to go now. We can’t let him get to the university.” She said quickly, already aiming her yo-yo at the nearest lamppost. Chat nodded once and followed suit, matching her pace. 

She hated to admit it but Chat was worrying Ladybug today. In all the years she’d known him, she’d never seen him so quiet, so willing to simply follow her lead. He was reckless, impulsive and _ impossible _ to shut up—she’d tried! And yet, here he was, not only asking her for a plan but quietly following it. What was up with him? Had his injury finally made him realise the consequences of his actions?

“There!” Chat’s voice jolted Ladybug out of her thoughts and her yo-yo fell short of the next lamppost, sending her tumbling to the ground. Right in front of… the akuma. Well, this wasn’t quite the introduction she’d wanted but at least she was here?

“You again?” The akuma spoke. His voice was ragged, scratching against his throat as though he’d yelled himself hoarse. But up until now, he hadn’t said a word. “I thought I got rid of you.” Then his eyes locked on Chat as he landed, far more gracefully than herself, on the ground beside her. “Ah, of course. Your kitty came to save you.” She felt Chat tense at the nickname. Well, at least that hadn’t changed.

“Who are you?” Ladybug asked. Normally, she prided herself on being able to brilliantly deduce what had happened for the victim to be akumatised, but today, she had no idea what could have lead to this particular akuma.

“I am Student Doubt. And you are Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“Why are you here, Student Doubt?” 

“I am here for your Miraculouses. Hawk Moth wants them. I will show him I am useful. I will not fail him too.” Fail him _ too _ ? Surely, there was something in that? If only Ladybug could get her brain to _ work _, maybe she could figure out why that felt important.

Student Doubt lunged for her, one hand reaching for her miraculous. Ladybug scrambled away, hands automatically going up to cover her ears at the same time Chat stepped forwards, blocking the akuma’s attack with his baton. She was too easily distracted today. She needed to get herself together.

Ladybug got to her feet, whirling her yo-yo around like a lasso. If she could get the textbook away from the akuma, she could get this over and done with quickly and maybe have a few minutes in the library to go over the material. 

She threw the yo-yo but it didn’t look right. Maybe she threw it wrong? She tugged at it, trying to get it to change direction. It careened off to one side, missing Student Doubt by almost a whole metre. She pulled it back towards her, leaping backwards onto the roof to give herself more space to manoeuvre.

As soon as she was out of immediate range, the akuma switched tracks, turning to Chat Noir who had been steadily creeping up behind him. Student Doubt caught Chat’s baton effortlessly, yanking it out of his hands. He spun it in one hand, the other still wrapped around the textbook.

Chat jumped, narrowly avoiding the baton as it arced through the air towards him. He landed on the other side of the akuma, reaching for the textbook. Student Doubt spun, extending Chat’s baton and catching him squarely in the side of the ribs. 

Chat went flying, his body strangely limp. He hit the wall, his head connecting with a solid _ crack _ and collapsed to the ground. Ladybug watched him choke on air, his arms shaking as he struggled to push himself up. 

Oh God, she needed to do _ something. _ She was so useless. _ Why was she so useless? _

Student Doubt dropped Chat’s baton on the ground. It connected with a _ ting _of metal. He strode confidently towards Chat, shifting his textbook in his arms to hold it with both hands. 

“Hey! Student Doubt, over here!” This wasn’t what she had intended! The akuma immediately turned towards her. His hands twitched on the textbook.

“Ladybug,” he said. “What’s your plan to defeat me? You still don’t know who I am.” Ladybug shifted nervously. He couldn’t possibly know that. Could he? “Your partner lays defeated on the ground and yet you continue to dawdle. What other reason could it possibly be?” He said, sounding as thought he’d heard her thoughts. She tried not to think about how disastrous that could be.

“I don’t need to hear your mind to know your thoughts, Ladybug,” Ladybug felt her eyes widen as fear trickled through her. There was _ no _ way he could know this. He couldn’t be responding to her as though she’d spoken aloud. She hadn’t. Had she? 

Her mind raced. Was he bluffing? Could he actually hear her thoughts or was he somehow working out exactly what she was thinking, as he claimed? She couldn’t think. Her thoughts were panicked. 

Her mind was her greatest weapon. With it, she had worked out how to defeat every akuma so far. Having it fail her was one of her greatest fears. To have it invaded like this was something she had never even considered. She didn’t know how she could deal with that.

“You believe yourself a hero, the saviour of Paris. But Hawk Moth remains at large. You take down akuma after akuma and for what? Goody-points with the citizens of Paris? Another day running around pretending to be the one everyone had asked for?

But I know the truth. I can see through the mask. I see the real you: a failure. Who would’ve thought the great Ladybug the whole of Paris relies on so much is just a teenager?”

Ladybug was reeling. There was no doubt in her mind that he was in her head. How did he manage it? She hadn’t been hit. Chat had saved her from Student Doubt’s blast. This didn’t make any _ sense. _If anything, Chat’s mind was the one Student Doubt should be able to see into. Ladybug hadn’t seen if he’d escaped the beam when he’d pushed her down. She hadn’t been shot at since. How could he-

Oh.

The sudden white beam as she had left the house flashed through her mind. 

She thought she’d avoided it. She had been _ sure _ it had missed. But there was no other way. She had been wrong.

Her confidence crumbled. She felt the pressure of the suit around her but her Ladybug façade fell. She wasn’t Ladybug, Heroine of Paris and Protector of People anymore, but civilian Marinette, helpless and weak.

She barely noticed the burst of white that exploded in her vision.

She couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t stop him, couldn’t fight, couldn’t even _ think _anymore. Student Doubt was right. Ladybug was a failure. She hadn’t stopped Hawk Moth in the five years she’d been active. With every akuma she’d defeated, all she’d done was buy herself more time. Every time she won, she allowed the charade of being their saviour to continue. She wasn’t what Paris needed. 

She couldn’t be their hero.

The white vanished from her vision suddenly and the world rushed back in. She gasped, head snapping upwards to see what had happened.

Chat Noir stood over the prone form of Student Doubt, his baton clutched in his hand. His legs trembled and, as Ladybug watched, his knees buckled beneath him and he fell. He barely caught himself on his hands. He let out a pained whine.

Taking a deep breath, Chat reached forwards and grabbed the textbook.

“Cat- cataclysm,” he stuttered, his pained voice so different from his usual overly-energetic cry. The textbook disintegrated in his hand and a single black and purple butterfly fled from it.

Chat had saved her?

Ladybug was still shaking as she raised her yo-yo above her head and flung it towards the akuma.

“Bye bye, little butterfly,” she said, trying to ignore the way her voice trembled. She watched as the pure white butterfly fluttered away, allowing the steady, repetitive beating of its wings calm her somewhat. 

Dark bubbles covered Student Doubt’s form, leaving behind a young male clad in simple jeans and a t-shirt. His brown hair flopped over his face. Beside him, Chat Noir was still gasping for breath, his face pale. 

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug called. She hadn’t even called it earlier. She tried to force the wave of guilt down as her eyes flickered across Chat’s battered body. The blanket she caught was the usual red with black spots design and luxuriously fluffy.

She felt tears blur in her eyes as she looked at the blanket. What did she do with this? Why was she so useless today? She glanced up at Chat again. He was still sitting on the ground where he’d fallen, his arms the only thing holding him upright as he fought to get his breathing under control. She’d failed him today. What was wrong with her?

The student began to stir. Groaning, he sat up, one hand rubbing the back of his head. Presumably, where Chat had hit him. The student looked around, confusion flickering across his face as he took in the state of the two superheroes around him. 

He shivered suddenly, his arms coming to wrap around himself. Ah, so that was what the blanket was for. 

Ladybug leapt down from the roof. Her legs felt shaky but she landed as gracefully as ever. She extended a hand to the former-akuma which he accepted gratefully. Once he was sat up, she threw the blanket over his shoulders. She shot an apologetic look towards Chat. The sooner she got this student sorted, the sooner she could help the other superhero. Chat met her gaze evenly. 

“Thank you, Ladybug,” the student said. 

“It’s no problem,” she replied then winced. She hadn’t meant to sound so cold. She still felt… off. Her hand shook, her fingers drumming against her leg as she tried to ignore the memories of fighting the akumatised student. She clenched her hand into a fist to stop it from trembling.

“Do you remember what happened?” She asked. The student looked away, curling in on himself.

“I always wanted to come to uni, y’know?” He began, his voice small. He wouldn’t meet her gaze. “It’s been a dream of mine for so long but… now I’m here and I can’t do it. It’s everything I’m helpless at: self-motivation, organisation, remaining focused and I just… can’t… do it.” The student looked at her, unshed tears shining in his eyes. Then he blinked and looked away again. “I’m sorry. My problems aren’t your responsibility. I shouldn’t burden you with this.”

“You’re not burdening us.” It was exactly what Ladybug had been about to say but the words had not come from her. Chat shifted, pushing himself into a more upright position with a wince. “It’s okay to struggle,” he continued, “that doesn’t make you a failure.”

“But it’s so much money that I’m just _ wasting _ all because I can’t get my stupid brain to _ work- _”

“Do you want to be here?” Chat said, interrupting the student.

“Yes, but-“

“Do you enjoy the subject you chose?”

“I… do…”

“Well then you’re not wasting your money.” If Chat was a bit more curt than usual, Ladybug didn’t comment on it. 

“But everyone is so much better than me.”

“Pfft, I doubt it,” Chat chuckled, his eyes pointed at the ground as his head started to droop. “You just don’t see them struggle.”

“I’m just… scared. I thought I could handle it but what if… what if I can’t get my ADHD under control? What if I end up dropping out? What if I can’t do it?” Chat’s gaze flicked up as the student spoke.

“You have ADHD?” He asked. The student nodded. “Are you using the accommodations?” A shake of the head. No. Chat sighed. “You should.”

“I don’t want to feel like I’m cheating-”

“You’re not.”

“But no one else gets them-“

“No one else needs them.”

“But-“

“No,” Chat snapped, pushing himself up so he could shuffle closer to the student. When he next spoke, his voice was quiet. “I’m going to be honest with you. I have ADHD too.” Ladybug blinked. That… made a lot of sense actually. The student seemed equally surprised, his mouth opening in a silent gasp.

“I’ve known about it for most of my life. My dad kept me on a strict schedule and made sure someone was always keeping me on track so I couldn’t mess up. Coming to university? Yeah, it’s scary. Because suddenly it’s all down to you and that’s stressful.” Chat grabbed the student by the shoulders, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “But you don’t have to do it by yourself. Talk to your teachers, talk to student support, hell, even talking to your friends might help. Don’t feel like you have to do it by yourself. 

“And use your accommodations. It’s not cheating, it’s making it a level-playing field.” Chat smiled then. “And _ please _ don’t feel like you have to do it alone. Someone will always help you if you ask.”

“Okay,” the student mumbled, so quiet Ladybug almost missed it. “I’ll try.” Chat nodded, seemingly happy with the student’s answer. He pulled him into a brief hug.

Ladybug’s earring bleeped in her ear. She heard Chat’s ring follow suit.

“Let’s get you back, yeah?” She said, stepping forwards and helping the student to his feet.

“It’s okay,” he said, shaking his head. “I know you guys need to go. I can make my own way back. Besides, I need to make a stop along the way.” He glanced over at Chat who winked back. The student smiled shyly. He turned back to Ladybug. “Thank you for your help. Oh, and here’s your blanket back,” he said, shrugging it off his shoulders and handing it back to her.

The student took a quick breath before he strode away, heading towards the main building. The second he was out of sight, Chat collapsed into a bout of coughing, his arms struggling to hold him up. Ladybug grimaced.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” She cried, throwing the blanket into the air. The miraculous ladybugs didn’t have much physical damage to fix but they eased Chat’s coughing fit. 

“Thanks,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse. 

“That’s okay,” Ladybug said, offering him a hand up. Chat took it gratefully and she pulled him to his feet. 

“Ah-“ Chat snatched his hand away, wincing. He was still hurt? 

“Chat?” The superhero in question grimaced.

“Yes, M’lady?” 

“Are you still hurt?” Chat shifted his feet uncomfortably, unable to meet her steady gaze. “Chat.” She said again.

“I… I got hit by that akuma the other day,” he finally admitted. “I thought the miraculous cure would heal it but they only helped it temporarily. Guess I’m healing the long way round,” he said, shooting her a sheepish grin.

Ladybug was stunned. He had told her—well, Marinette, technically—that he was fine. He had _ lied. _ And then he had pretended to be _ fine. _

She was hurt. Did he really trust her so little? She recalled what he had said about Ladybug while she patched him up as Marinette. _ “She wouldn’t… like weakness.” _He had said. Did he really think she wouldn’t help him?

Her earring bleeped again. She touched it absently.

“I need to go,” she said. 

“Me too,” Chat said. He looked guilty. “Ladybug… I’m- I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I- I thought…” he paused. “No, don’t worry.” He straightened up, giving her a mock-salute with two fingers by way of saying goodbye. “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “See you.”

She watched him until he was out of sight, suddenly noticing the way he held himself stiffly so as not to disturb the wound, the way he leant forwards ever so slightly to take the pressure off, the way he had been moving to accommodate the injury and all the ways she hadn’t noticed before.

How was she supposed to feel about that?

Feeling numb, she turned and began the trek back to the house. Her mind was a million miles away from university at that point, turning over and over again, asking herself again and again how she hadn’t noticed sooner. 

She missed the test later that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest chapter so far? I spent all day in a writing fever trying to get this one done lol. When the inspiration takes you and all that?
> 
> I also have chapter 8 ready to go but that one is a much shorter one for I'm gonna try and get chapter 9 (and possibly 10) finished before that one goes up (just so I don't end up on a mini-hiatus again lol)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one!


	8. Chapter 8

That night, Marinette went out as Ladybug. It was the first time she’d been out on patrol since she’d been at university but the akuma today had shaken her badly and she couldn’t focus on her work. 

She was far too wired, jumping at every sound and tensing at the slightest of movements. Earlier, Tikki had asked her for a cookie and Marinette had almost slapped her out of the air. 

As she leapt from roof to roof, feeling the cool night air against her face, still with a hint of summer-warmth, she felt herself begin to unwind. When she felt like she could finally breathe again, she turned back and headed home. She didn’t notice the second figure. 

“Ladybug?” She almost slipped off the roof. Her eyes snapped towards the sound, finding… 

“Chat Noir? What are you doing here?” He shrugged. 

“Came out to get some fresh air,” he said nonchalantly. “And you, m’lady? What brings you to my humble rooftop at this late hour.” He all but  _ purred _ as he spoke, letting his usual irritatingly flirtatious tone come through. She sighed. She thought he’d moved past this. 

“Same as you,” she replied curtly. She stood silently for a moment, wondering whether she should leave until Chat reached out and patted the roof next to him. She took that as her answer, settling down beside him. 

“Are you okay, Ladybug?” Chat asked after another beat of silence. That was a good question. Was she okay? If she was honest with herself, she was still very shaken up by that akuma. Not to mention, she was still not quite sure how she felt about Chat lying to her. She was hovering somewhere between feeling angry and feeling betrayed. But she couldn’t tell Chat that. 

“I’m fine,” she said, a little too quickly for it to be genuine. Chat studied her with cautious eyes but said nothing. She had no doubt he had seen her reaction to the akuma—he had been the one to save her, after all—but she was grateful he didn’t press it. 

“I love nights like this,” he said, his voice soft. “My mum used to love stargazing and she’d take me outside every summer to go and look at the stars. She’d make sure we’d go out every week coz it changes, y’know?” Ladybug was surprised; she hadn’t been expecting him to talk about something so personal. She was honoured. “She knew all the names. Like that one?” He said, pointing to a small cluster of stars, “that’s Ursa Major. That one’s my favourite. It was the first one I could ever see.” 

He paused, a smile on his face as he spoke, his eyes staring off into the night. “Nights like this were always the best—where there’s no clouds in the way and you can see _ everything  _ for  _ miles.  _

“The world is so  _ big.  _ You’re just one person in one town, in one country staring at the sky and you’re so  _ small,  _ so insignificant compared to them. They’ve seen a thousand lifetimes, millions of people who looked up and saw an entire universe stretching away. A cosmos of possibility.

“But… for one moment… nothing else matters. It’s just you and the stars.”

Ladybug squinted at the sky. She’d never really seen the appeal of staring at giant balls of fire and gas made small by their distance but the way Chat spoke about them... 

She tried to make out what he was talking about but she saw nothing. 

“It’s... there,” Chat said, his finger tracing something in the air. “You see how it looks kinda like a saucepan? See, there’s the handle,” he said, leaning closer to her, “and there’s the pot bit.” Ladybug followed his finger, trying to find the constellation. All of a sudden, it was like someone had given her glasses as the stars seemed to shift in front of her eyes. She gasped. 

“You see it?” he asked. She could only nod. It was quite beautiful—how had she never noticed this before? “It’s pretty, isn’t it? Sometimes I like to come out here and just stare at them. Back at home, I got into the habit of lying on my roof and doing homework while the sun set and then looking at the stars until I wanted to sleep.” A smile tugged at his lips as he looked up at the sky, a genuine smile, not his usual cocky one. Ladybug had never seen it before. 

“It’s beautiful,” Ladybug breathed. 

“I’m glad you like it,” Chat chuckled. 

“Do you miss her? Your mum?” Ladybug hadn’t really meant to say that aloud. She knew they couldn’t say or do anything that might inadvertently reveal their identities to each other, had drilled it into him time and time again when his ridiculous flirting had put their alter-egos at risk. But there was something in his expression that prompted her to ask. 

"Yeah. I do,” he said lightly, but the wistful look on his face seemed more than simply missing your mum. Ladybug didn’t press any further. 

A silence settled between them but it wasn’t uncomfortable. For a while, Ladybug enjoyed just sitting in Chat’s presence. 

For so many years, she’d viewed him as her greatest hindrance. It had seemed he turned up to every akuma fight to get in her way and ruin all her plans with his inability to  _ listen _ for  _ five seconds _ . He would rush ahead, and complicate matters far more than they needed. For  _ years _ , she’d only seen him as Chat Noir, the stupidly impulsive superhero who made her job far harder than it needed to be, and she’d never bothered to better get to know him. 

It wasn’t until he turned up on her window that day that she even considered that he was someone, just like her; that he got hurt sometimes, just like her; that he wasn’t always Chat Noir, that sometimes he was just another face in the crowd. Just like her. 

Seeing him now, content with just sitting in the light of the moon... it was strange, to say the least. But it was nice. She felt guilty she hadn’t bothered to get to know him before now. 

“How’s your injury?” Ladybug asked, breaking the silence. Chat looked over at her, a wariness in his expression. He studied her face for a moment, as though trying to check whether she was being genuine. 

“Painful,” he admitted at last, turning back to look at the stars. “But I’m healing. Faster than if I wasn’t a superhero, that’s for sure.” 

“You know...” Ladybug started. She hesitated. How could she word this that didn’t sound suspicious? Chat had told  _ Marinette _ that he didn’t want to go to Ladybug. From his perspective, Ladybug shouldn’t know about any of it. “You don’t have to hide things from me.” she said finally. 

“I know I shouldn’t have,” Chat said, gaze fixed firmly on a distant constellation. She watched his eyes trace the invisible lines that connected the stars, over and over. “Truthfully, sometimes when I look at you, I see my father. In many ways, you guys are similar: both a stickler for the rules, both making tight schedules—or plans, in your case—and then sticking to them like a barnacle to a rock. But he was intolerant of weakness. Any slip up, any injury, any mistake, no matter how small, was weakness to him,” Chat turned to her then, the moon enveloping his face in its pale light. It illuminated his features, turning his blonde hair white. The green of his eye shone in the moonlight and, all of a sudden, Ladybug found herself reminded of Adrien’s eyes. “I’m sorry I assumed you were the same.” 

Ladybug’s throat felt dry. She could only nod. 

Chat’s gaze flicked over to where the moon now hung high in the sky. 

“We should probably go home,” he said, 

“Yeah, probably,” Ladybug agreed. Chat got to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, stopping when he winced. He stuck out his hand, offering Ladybug a hand. She took it, pulling herself up to stand beside him. 

“Until the next time, m’lady,” Chat said, dropping seamlessly into a bow. He raised her hand to his lips. She snatched it away from him, shaking her head. 

“Woah, slow down there, kitty,” she said, grinning when he looked at her in shock. 

“Really? The first nickname you give me and it’s ‘kitty’? I’m disappointed, m’lady,” he said, crossing his arms and putting on a face of mock-disappointment. She beamed back. Soon, his displeased expression gave way to a small smile of his own. 

“Goodnight, kitty,” Ladybug said, as she walked towards the edge. “I’ll see you around.” 

With that, she threw herself off the roof. She swung in a wide arc, landing in front of her open window. 

She released her transformation once she was safely inside her room. Already in pyjamas, she turned off her light and laid down in bed. As she pulled the cover over herself, she thought back to their chat on the rooftop. 

Just before she’d leapt, she’d looked back. He’d been watching her, the barest hint of a smile present on his face. It was a private smile, the kind of smile that wasn’t meant for anyone else to see. 

For a single moment as she let herself fall, she’d wondered when she might see that smile again. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um... oops? 
> 
> Look I didn't MEAN to disappear for 3 months, it just happened! But! Good news! I've finished chapter 9 and chapter 10 is on its way to completion and I think I know how this is gonna go from here on. 
> 
> And I mean its not like I don't have tons of free time rn so... I may actually finish a fic?? Never say never.
> 
> Anyways.
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me!! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. A slightly shorter one this time but a personal favourite. (I'm not ashamed to admit that I did have to stop several times while writing to frantically text my friend about how cute they are because omg sTaRS...)
> 
> Hopefully I'll be able to post chapter 9 soon!
> 
> Until then, see ya later!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a break from this pic to focus on uni and didn't realise I had both chapter 9 and 10 finished oops so here's chapter 9. Enjoy!

Ladybug had always been an enigma. She appeared, fought and then vanished without a trace. She was distant and closed-off and so very mysterious. Adrien would be lying if he said he’d never been curious to get to know the girl under the mask. 

At first, he’d tried. When he first bumped into her—literally—he’d tried to play nice and make friends—after all, they were in this together. And at first, she’d seemed hesitant but willing to try and he’d thought to himself  _ finally, finally he’d made a friend.  _

But then came the fights. She would yell or scold him for jumping in headfirst without a plan _ —do you ever even  _ think?!—and he would be quite suddenly and viscerally reminded of his  _ father  _ and he’d really rather  _ not  _ think about him anymore than necessary, thank you very much. 

He hadn’t tried quite so hard to pursue a relationship after that. 

It wasn’t until that night on the roof that he realised she wasn’t just a superhero. Up on the roof, a thousand stars glittering above them, he’d seen a side of her he’d never seen before, a side he hoped to see again. 

He couldn’t ignore the swooping sensation in his stomach when she’d teased him, the gentle flutters of something he wasn’t quite ready to face in his heart when she’d looked back just before she jumped. 

Later, he’d be able to face those feelings. Later, he’d be able to write a step-by-step progress chart of the stages of his relationship with Ladybug. Later, he’d be able to pinpoint exactly when his feelings towards Ladybug changed from  _ purely professional  _ to something a little more like  _ love _ . But not yet. 

For now, he could only stare longingly after her, wishing she would come back and sit with him again. 

Sighing, he shook his head and vaulted away. He landed outside his window with practiced ease and clambered through, crouching on his bed while he clicked the window closed behind him. He paused, ears straining for the sound of any movement before letting his transformation drop. 

Adrien let himself flop back against the wall, his head hanging forwards and his shoulders slumping—oh, the earful his father would give him if he was there—but he couldn’t bring himself to care about his posture right now. He was exhausted. 

Plagg materialised with a groan, flinging himself onto the bed beside him with a sound probably meant to garner sympathy but that, in reality, just made Adrien snort at his kwami’s dramatics. 

“Don’t laugh! I’m  _ starving!  _ I’m wasting away!” Plagg said, indignant. 

“Sure, sure, Plagg,” Adrien chuckled. “You know where the fridge is.” 

“I can’t go by myself!” 

“Why not? You can fly, can’t you?” 

“And if someone sees me flying?” 

Adrien lets himself slide down the wall until he was laying on his bed, looking down at his kwami. “I don’t know, what would you normally do?” 

“Meow?” 

Adrien cocked an eyebrow at that. “And you think that’d work? Cats don’t normally  _ fly _ ,” 

“Exactly,” Plagg said, crossing his little arms across his chest in what was probably supposed to be an intimidating gesture and was definitely_ not_ _cute. _“Which is why you have to come with me so I don’t make a fool of myself and reveal the existence of terrifying tiny cat gods to some poor unsuspecting university student.” 

Adrien regarded him for a moment. “Fine,” he finally said, pushing himself up off the bed. “Come on, then. Let’s go get you your cheese, oh almighty cat god!” He held his jacket open and Plagg flew inside obediently. 

Adrien walked the few steps to the kitchen, pushing the door open to complete darkness. He didn’t bother turning the light on—he was only going to be here for a few seconds anyway. 

He leant against the wall and held his jacket open to let Plagg fly out. 

“You know where it is so grab it and-“ 

“Adrien?” A voice much higher than he’d been expecting came from the darkness. 

Adrien went cold. That wasn’t Plagg’s voice. He hadn’t even checked if he was alone when he’d entered, he’d just  _ assumed _ no one else was crazy enough to be up this late. 

“Yes?” He responded tentatively. 

“What are you still doing up?” Came the voice again. Was he imagining the hint of panic in their tone? 

“I—uh—couldn’t… sleep?” He winced. He hadn’t meant that to sound like a question. “I didn’t think anyone else would still be awake, I’m sorry if I scared you.” 

“Oh—no, you’re okay. I was doing the same thing.” That voice definitely sounded familiar. And they seemed to know  _ him _ . Who did he live with again? His brain felt foggy. Plagg needed to  _ hurry up  _ because Adrien really wanted to just go  _ sleep.  _

“Did…” the voice started. “Did you want a hot chocolate?” 

“A hot chocolate?” He remembered, dumbfounded. 

“Y- yeah. M- ma mère always used to make me one when I couldn’t sleep and it helped so… hot chocolate?” 

“Oh,” University student at one of the most prestigious universities in the entirety of France and that was the response he’d decided on. Clearly he was more tired than he’d thought. “Uh- thank you for the offer but-” he felt the comforting weight of Plagg settle into his pocket once more, accompanied by a painful  _ poke  _ in the side. “Ow-a-actually, that sounds great, thank you.” 

If it wasn’t so dark and if there wasn’t another person there, Adrien would be  _ glaring  _ at Plagg. He felt him chuckle quietly in his pocket and carefully swatted his pocket, as though to dislodge some dust. Plagg stopped laughing immediately. Adrien let a small, vindictive smile spread across his face. 

“You’re a trouble- no! I mean- it’s no trouble!” He heard them let out a frustrated sigh before shuffling over to the kitchen counter and putting the kettle on. All of a sudden, Adrien realised why the voice was so familiar: it was Marinette. 

“S-so,” she said, “H- how was your day?” 

“It was okay,” he replied. “Exhausting.” Between his injury still making its presence known and starting his day with an akuma, Adrien was ready to drop. 

To be completely honest, he’d been ready to turn in since they’d saved Student Doubt but, unfortunately for him, he’d had a lecture immediately after—thank god the akuma happened in the middle of campus so he could blame that for his lateness—and then a seminar. 

Technically, it was still a lighter load than he was used to—it had taken some convincing, but his father had agreed he didn’t have to attend photo shoots while he was at uni for fear he’d miss too much—but Adrien hadn’t quite adjusted to the intensity of the work quite yet. And being in constant pain didn’t really help matters. 

“I feel that,” Marinette spoke, jolting Adrien from his thoughts. He heard a clattering and assumed she was making the hot chocolates. “I thought I was used to pulling all-nighters to hit deadlines but I’ve been here barely a week and I’m already dead on my feet. I haven’t been able to work all-night, I’ve been so tired!” 

Adrien heard a clinking as she mixed the hot chocolate then a  _ clunk  _ as she dropped the spoon into the sink. 

“Here,” she said, handing him the mug. He reached out and found it in the darkness, taking it gratefully. 

“Thank you, Marinette,” he said. Silence stretched between them for a moment as they both alternated between sipping on their drinks then blowing on it when they were painfully reminded that, yes, it’s  _ hot _ chocolate. 

“I should probably go to bed,” Marinette said, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah,” Adrien agreed, maybe a little too eagerly, “that sounds like a good idea.” He made his way to the kitchen door, hands still firmly wrapped around his drink. He opened the door and held it while Marinette slipped through. He turned to her before they parted completely. 

“Thank you, Marinette,” he said. 

“O-oh, it was no problem,” she stammered. 

“See you tomorrow!” Adrien said as he pushed his door open and walked through. He collapsed onto his bed gratefully, not even bothering to change his clothes. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise this chapter is a bit more filler-y but hopefully the next chapter should be out soon!
> 
> Also I'd like to just take a moment to thank everyone who's commented on this fic. You honestly motivate me to keep writing when I'm in a bit of a slump. I'm not always the best at replying to comments but I read them all and appreciate every one.


	10. Chapter 10

Adrien was just about ready to throw in the towel and call it a day when he woke up with a headache. Honestly, he might have if Plagg hadn’t reminded him with a firm poke in the arm that actually, he did need to get up because he had a very important meeting with his tutor today and what kind of impression does he want to make, not turning up to his first ever meeting?

So, begrudgingly, Adrien got up. 

He slid his legs out of bed and stretched as he got to his feet. Then he winced and immediately stopped. He glanced down, gently tugging his top up so he could see the bandage underneath. He’d bled through. Ugh.

Getting hit yesterday must have reopened the wound because he’d been doing  _ so well _ at not bleeding recently. He hadn’t even checked it when he got back because he’d been so out of it last night. Well, that, and he’d wanted to keep his ignorance for just a few more minutes. 

“You need to redress that,” Plagg said, helpfully.

“I am aware,” Adrien replied, shortly. He picked at the bandage, trying to gauge how much it was going to hurt. He gave it a gentle tug and flinched when it pulled at his skin. Great. Just peachy. 

His door squealed on its hinges and Adrien hastily let go of his shirt, his head snapping up to stare at the entrance to his room. 

He had been expecting someone to be standing at his door, eyes wide, staring at him in shock as they took in the faint smudges of blood on his fingers. But there was no one there. Lucky. Adrien didn’t need to be dealing with any difficult questions right now.

“Hey, Adrien,”

“Yes, Plagg?”

“Isn’t your meeting at 10:00?”

His gaze flicked to his clock. 9:45. He’d slept in. He really, really shouldn’t have. 

Adrien felt his eyes widen. He grabbed the nearest clean shirt he had and threw it on, hurriedly following it with a pair of trousers and some socks, not caring if they matched. He raced out the room as the clock ticked the hour.

***

Despite being almost a full ten minutes late, Adrien’s tutor had been very good-natured about it. He had chuckled lightly when a very flustered-looking Adrien had opened the door and apologised profusely.

It was probably the most civil exchange Adrien had ever had when he’d failed at being punctual. His father was nothing if not a stickler for perfection and he made sure Adrien arrived at least half an hour early to anything. Adrien was never quite as good at the whole time management thing.

When Adrien left an hour later, he left with a peculiar lightness to his step that he’d never felt before.

And then he felt a twinge of pain in his side and went back to his slightly slumped posture.

He was really fed up with this whole injury thing. That was the last time he was jumping in front of any sharp spinning blades, that was for sure. You’d think that would be obvious but apparently not.

He reached the door to his house. Grumbling to himself, he turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open with his hip, gritting his teeth when the bandages pulled against his skin again. He needed to sort that out. It was becoming a Problem. With a capital P.

Adrien made a beeline for his room and unlocked the door. He chucked his bag down on the floor and was about to close his door and begin when he realised he needed to grab the first aid kid from the bathroom. Given how much of a habit this was becoming, he might do well to invest in his own bandages to keep in his room instead of keep pinching the communal ones. 

Sighing, he propped his door open and made his way towards the bathroom. 

Just his luck, the door was closed and the lock was engaged. Damn Plagg’s bad luck. He debated whether it would be weird to stand outside but, in the end, decided he didn’t care and slumped back against the wall.

Whoever it was didn’t take long. Adrien heard the lock click and pushed himself into a standing position. The door opened.

“Adrien!” said the occupant, all but slamming the door closed again.

“Marinette?” Sure enough, the door cracked open and Marinette’s face peered out. “You okay?”

“Sorry, you made me jump,” Marinette said, brushing past Adrien as she exited the bathroom, a faint dusting of red across her cheeks. “S-so what have you been up to today?”

“Not much,” Adrien shrugged. “I had a tutor meeting this morning but that’s it so far.”

Marinette nodded absently. “Cool…” Adrien shifted uncomfortably, wondering whether he could grab the first aid kit and go or if they were having a conversation now. “Ah- sorry. I’m keeping you and you need… Sorry. I’ll, uh, be in my room.” Marinette said suddenly. “Bye!”

Well that made it easy.

Adrien grabbed the first aid kit and retreated to his room, throwing the door closed behind him. He sat down on his bed with a  _ thump.  _

Reaching for a pack of baby wipes with one hand, he pulled his t-shirt up with the other and bit into it with his teeth to keep it out of his way. He grimaced at the sight. Dry blood was smeared across his abdomen and flaking off onto his sheets as he moved. Gross. 

He swiped a wipe over the mess, trying to clean it off as best as he could before he had to take the bandage off. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to that part.

“You missed a spot,” Plagg said, appearing on Adrien’s left and pointing to a small smear on his ribs.

“‘M getting there,” Adrien said as best as he could around the t-shirt in his mouth, but he followed Plagg’s direction all the same.

“And there’s a bit there too,” 

“Plagg,” Adrien said, warningly. That seemed to shut Plagg up as the kwami hovered silently by Adrien’s shoulder.

After going through almost half a pack of wipes, Adrien finally couldn’t put off the inevitable anymore. He grabbed the bandage with his fingers.

“Maybe you should wipe it again. To be sure,” Plagg piped up suddenly. The kwami was still hovering by his shoulder and it was starting to bug him. Normally, Plagg would have settled on his shoulder by now but instead he was loitering, and it was driving Adrien slightly crazy.

“If you’re not gonna be helpful,” he said through gritted teeth as he slowly pulled the bandage away from the wound, “then shut up.”

Really, it was his own fault. If he’d been a little bit more careful, a little more cautious, if he’d actually  _ learnt  _ from his mistakes, perhaps it might not have happened. But he didn’t. And now it’s too late.

“Adrien?” He heard the familiar squeaking of his door. “I found this and-” His head snapped towards her. Marinette. Standing in the doorway, her eyes wide, taking in the scene: the gory line through his abdomen, the piles of bloodied wipes on the floor beside him, Plagg floating innocently by his shoulder. There was no way he was getting out of this one.

“Shit,” he said, as she fled from the room. He hastily finished his cleaning and tied a rudimentary bandage around his waist—he’d need to fix it later but he had bigger problems right now. “Marinette!”

She was standing by her room, one hand wrapped around her door handle, eyes wild. 

“Marinette! Wait! I can explain, please-”

“I don’t want any more of your lies!” She cried. He stumbled back. She took his distraction as the opportunity to leave and disappeared into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Leaving Adrien alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's chapter 10! I hope you enjoyed it! I had a blast writing this. The injury reveal was one of the first scenes I had planned out for this story so I'm so excited to share it finally. 
> 
> Unfortunately, this is probably gonna be the last upload for a while. I left my story plan at uni (Big Dumb moment) and I don't remember enough about ch11 to be able to finish it without the plan. I apologise but hopefully it won't be long!
> 
> I wish you all a great Christmas (if you celebrate), a wonderful holidays and a Happy New Year!


End file.
